Ronaldo Led the Tributes as Messi Said Goodbye to Argentina

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026 — The last tango is over, and football is still catching its breath. A day after Lionel Messi played his final game for Argentina — a goal, two assists, and a 3-0 win over Benin in front of more than 85,000 people at the Monumental — the tributes kept coming. Not from pundits. From the people who shared a pitch with him, and in one case, from the man who spent fifteen years trying to be better than him.

Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, put aside one of sport’s great rivalries on Wednesday and replied to Messi’s emotional Instagram farewell. His message was short, and that is what made it land: Messi had made history that will last forever, Ronaldo wrote, and he had the utmost respect for what his longtime rival accomplished with Argentina. No caveats. No “but.” Just a hug, signed off at the end.

What Messi wrote

The post Ronaldo was replying to was pure Messi: long, sincere, a little heartbroken. “Yesterday was my last game, and I already miss wearing the blue and white. I know I’m making the right decision,” Messi wrote, calling his 21-year international career “an incredible journey, full of joy and also some sadness, but I know for sure that every step I took was worth it.”

He thanked the clubs that let him put country first and remembered Diego Maradona — “who put our country where it deserved to be.” Then Messi closed the post with the line that will be quoted back at him for years. He wrote: “I am grateful. I love you all very much; I’m going to miss you, and I will always thank you for having been by our side, by my side.”

It is worth sitting with what that post is actually saying. Messi announced his international retirement on Aug. 31, just weeks after the death of his father and agent, Jorge Messi. He played six World Cups. He won in Qatar in 2022, lost a final this summer in 2026, and lifted the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 plus the 2022 Finalissima. The farewell friendly was supposed to be a celebration. Reading his words, it is clear it was also a goodbye he was not fully ready to make — which is exactly why he made it.

Ronaldinho: “since day one, brother”

If Ronaldo’s tribute was the headline, Ronaldinho’s was the one that made people stop scrolling. The 2002 World Cup winner — who played alongside a teenage Messi at Barcelona from 2003 to 2008 and basically handed him the keys to the club — wrote on X about being part of Messi’s story from the very first day, about how Messi made people smile and enjoy football, and about how his name is etched in the history of Argentina and the entire world.

Then Ronaldinho did what only he could do: he connected it to family. He wrote that he understood Messi perfectly, that anything involving family makes you rethink things — a direct nod to Jorge Messi’s death and the real reason behind the timing of this retirement. “Enjoy life, brother. I wish you the best, today and always,” he closed. Coming from the man who taught Messi how to be a superstar, that reads less like a tribute and more like a blessing.

Neymar: “the world thanks you”

Neymar, who played with Messi at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain and is now back at Santos, posted that those who love football had cherished watching Messi all these years — and that it isn’t just Argentina that thanks him, the world does. He thanked Messi for making him love football even more, calling it an honor to have played against him and an even greater one to have made history alongside him.

That last line is doing a lot of work. Neymar was the third man in the MSN trident, the heir who was supposed to take the torch and never quite did. For him to say Messi made him love football even more is an admission: even the geniuses were fans.

The wider farewell

The tributes went beyond the big three. Ángel Di María — Messi’s longtime Argentina teammate — was at the Monumental for the farewell and wrote that the day nobody wanted had arrived, but that seeing Messi happy and at peace, knowing he gave everything, made everyone happy too. Luis Suárez, Messi’s Inter Miami teammate, sent a video message saying Messi had earned recognition from everyone for his career and what he represented for his country.

Back home, the clubs lined up. Boca Juniors posted “thank you always, captain.” Independiente called it a beautiful love story. San Lorenzo thanked him “for the football, for the love of the jersey, for the joy, for always trying again, and for being Argentinian.” Barcelona, the club where it all started, traced the arc from the 2008 Beijing gold medal to an unforgettable career with La Albiceleste. Adidas launched a farewell ad and placed a 30-foot replica of the jersey in Rosario, Messi’s hometown.

What comes next

Messi is not done with football — he remains Inter Miami’s playmaker, and the club game still has his Tuesdays and Saturdays. What ended at the Monumental was the international career: 21 years, six World Cups, a trophy cabinet that needed its own room. Argentina now has to figure out who it is without him, which is the kind of question that takes a generation to answer. The next competitive window will tell us whether this team was Messi plus ten others, or something he built that outlasts him.

For now, the sport gets to do the thing it rarely does well: say thank you while the man can still hear it. Ronaldo did. Ronaldinho did. Neymar did. Eighty-five thousand people in Buenos Aires did it loudest of all.

Full coverage: El Último Tango: Messi’s final Argentina match.