Argentina set to retire Lionel Messi’s No.10 jersey once he hangs up boots: Reports

Argentina will retire the iconic No.10 jersey worn by Lionel Messi after he hangs up his boots, according to reports.

“When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. This number ’10’ will be retired for life in his honour. It’s the least we can do for him,” Argentina Football Federation president Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia told an Argentine newspaper as quoted by Marca.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that the Argentine body has tried to retire the iconic No.10 jersey which was also worn by the legendary Diego Maradona.

Before World Cup 2002, Julio Grondona, who was the president of the AFA at that time along with some and some officials wanted to retire the jersey, but that did not end up happening due to a FIFA rule, which stated that teams should use numbers from 1 to 23 in the tournament.

Ariel Ortega ultimately wore the iconic jersey in the Marcelo Bielsa-coached team in the Korea Japan World Cup.

Meanwhile, Messi has 106 goals in 180 matches for Argentina and his trophy cabinet includes the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup.

With Messi’s future up in the air by the time the World Cup rolls on in 2026, he’ll be hoping to capture a second Copa crown with Argentina in 2024.

A few weeks ago, six of the iconic jerseys worn by Messi during the 2022 World Cup were sold for $7.8 million at an auction.

The collection included the famed No.10 jersey worn by Messi during the World Cup final where Argentina defeated France on penalties to win the title for the third time.

In the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored seven goals and made three assists to win the Golden Ball award, the only player to win it twice.

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