Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players in the history of football, has retired from the Argentine national team. The 39-year-old footballer wore the national jersey for the final time in Buenos Aires, in a friendly match against Benin, bringing his total number of appearances for Argentina to 208.
More than 85,000 tickets for the match at Buenos Aires’ largest stadium were sold within 90 minutes. Tickets that originally went on sale for around $60–300 (€53–267) were later being resold on secondary markets for more than $2,500 (€2,226).
After the match, Messi addressed the 85,000 sell-out crowd in Buenos Aires and he struggled to hold back the tears on that special night.
“This was one of the saddest days of my life,” he admitted.
