Lionel Messi brought the curtain down on his 21-year international career on Tuesday, bidding farewell to adoring Argentina fans in an emotional final appearance for the former world champions in Buenos Aires.

Axar.az reports, citing The Guardian, that in a perfectly scripted finale, the 39-year-old widely regarded as the greatest football player in history signed off with his 126th international goal in front of 85,000 supporters as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Benin.

It should be noted that Messi made his Argentina debut in August 2005 in a friendly against Hungary, which Argentina won 2-1. He made 208 appearances for the national team, scoring 126 goals and providing 69 assists. With Argentina, Messi won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, two Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 Finalissima.