The number 10 shirt must not retire with Messi

What the report says

Al Jazeera opinion writer Ezequiel Fernández Moores argues that Argentina should not retire the national team’s number 10 shirt after Lionel Messi’s retirement from international football. The piece says Messi’s farewell last week triggered an outpouring of grief in Argentina, reflecting how deeply he shaped the team over 21 years, including 207 official appearances, 125 goals and a World Cup title in Qatar in 2022.

The article places Messi in the same symbolic tradition as Diego Maradona, who made the number 10 emblematic of Argentine football after leading the team to the 1986 World Cup. It notes that the shirt has long been associated in Argentina with the sport’s creative standout, and that Messi inherited its weight without trying to become Maradona. Instead, he built his own legacy through persistence, later international success and a more restrained public image.

According to the published piece, calls to retire the shirt have already emerged, but the Argentine Football Association is not expected to do so. The article says FIFA squad-number rules would also prevent Argentina from retiring number 10 in official competition. The broader argument is that keeping the shirt available preserves the possibility that another Argentine player could one day claim it, much as Maradona and Messi did.

The author frames this as a question of national sporting identity as much as tribute. In that sense, the number 10 remains a living symbol rather than a memorial, and the debate reflects how Argentina continues to measure its football history through its greatest playmakers.