Argentina will not be able to officially retire Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt despite the legendary forward bringing his international career to an end.
Messi made his 208th appearance for Argentina in his farewell game, further extending his record as the country’s most-capped player. He also remains Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 126 international goals.
The 39-year-old enjoyed an extraordinary international career, winning the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 before leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022.
Despite his remarkable contribution to the national team, Argentina cannot permanently retire the No. 10 shirt because of FIFA regulations governing major international competitions.
FIFA and confederation tournaments require teams to assign consecutive shirt numbers to every player in their squad. At the 2026 World Cup, for instance, participating teams were required to use numbers from 1 to 26 for their 26-man squads.
The restriction means Argentina cannot simply remove the No. 10 shirt from its squad numbering system in major tournaments.
The country previously attempted to honour another football icon, Diego Maradona, by retiring his famous No. 10 shirt. However, FIFA rejected Argentina’s request ahead of the 2002 World Cup, with Ariel Ortega eventually wearing the number.
Argentina could, however, keep Messi’s shirt number unused during friendly matches, where the regulations regarding squad numbers are less restrictive.
