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Argentina will not be able to permanently retire Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt for major FIFA tournaments because of regulations governing squad numbers.
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The Argentine Football Association had hoped to honour Messi by keeping the legendary shirt permanently out of circulation after his retirement from international football.
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Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that the No. 10 will remain unused until after Messi’s farewell appearance, but the identity of his eventual successor remains a major talking point.
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Nico Paz has emerged as a reported candidate to inherit the famous number, although Argentina have yet to make an official decision.
October 2, (THEWILL) – Argentina have been forced to reconsider the future of Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt after FIFA regulations prevented the national team from permanently retiring the number.
Messi’s decision to end his international career has opened the door to a new era for Argentina, but the transition will come with one particularly difficult question: what happens to the shirt number that has become almost inseparable from the country’s greatest modern footballer?
The Argentine Football Association reportedly wanted to permanently retire the No. 10 in honour of Messi following his decision to step away from international football after more than two decades with the national team.
However, FIFA regulations governing squad numbers at major international tournaments mean Argentina cannot simply remove the number from circulation indefinitely.
The issue is particularly significant because the No. 10 is not merely a squad number in Argentina.
It has been associated with some of the country’s greatest footballers, most notably Diego Maradona, before becoming synonymous with Messi.
FIFA’s official records show that Messi wore the No. 10 during Argentina’s victorious 2022 World Cup campaign and again during the 2026 tournament.
Now, with Messi approaching his final appearance for the national team, Argentina must decide how to handle the shirt once its legendary owner walks away.
FIFA Rules Prevent Permanent Retirement
The problem for Argentina is not necessarily that the AFA cannot honour Messi’s shirt.
The difficulty is that the number cannot be permanently removed when Argentina participates in competitions where FIFA’s squad-number regulations require the available numbers to be assigned.
At major tournaments, national teams operate with a defined squad-number system.
That means Argentina cannot simply declare that No. 10 no longer exists and leave it permanently vacant during competitions such as the World Cup.
The issue is not new.
Argentina previously encountered a similar problem when it attempted to retire Maradona’s famous No. 10 shirt ahead of the 2002 World Cup.
FIFA’s regulations ultimately meant the number had to remain available for the tournament.
That history has now resurfaced as Argentina prepares for life after Messi.
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Messi’s Final Farewell Is Approaching
Messi announced his retirement from international football on August 31, bringing an end to a remarkable chapter with Argentina.
The 39-year-old leaves the national team as its record appearance-maker and leading goalscorer, having played a central role in Argentina’s most successful period in modern football.
FIFA confirmed that Messi will make one final appearance for Argentina in a farewell friendly against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on October 6.
The match is expected to serve as an emotional farewell for a player who helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup and two Copa América titles.
It also provides Argentina with one final opportunity to see Messi wearing the No. 10 before the national team begins the process of moving forward.
And while the shirt cannot be permanently retired under FIFA’s tournament rules, Argentina have already found a temporary way of keeping it exclusively associated with Messi.
Argentina Will Keep No. 10 Vacant For Now
Head coach Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that another player will not immediately inherit Messi’s number.
The decision allows the No. 10 to remain untouched while Argentina completes its farewell period for its captain.
“We are not obliged to assign it for the upcoming matches, so we will give it to no one until after Leo’s farewell match. We just have not yet decided who,” Scaloni said, according to ESPN.
That means the shirt can remain vacant during certain international fixtures even though Argentina cannot permanently retire it for official tournaments.
The distinction could allow the AFA to preserve the symbolism of Messi’s No. 10 for as long as possible without breaching FIFA regulations.
But eventually, the number will have to return to an Argentina player when tournament regulations require every squad number to be assigned.
Who Will Become Argentina’s Next No. 10?
That is now one of the most intriguing questions surrounding Scaloni’s squad.
One reported candidate is Nico Paz.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has emerged as one of the younger players being viewed as part of Argentina’s next generation.
Paz previously came through Real Madrid’s system before making his move to Italian football with Como, where his performances have strengthened his reputation.
He was also part of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup squad and has already made 11 senior international appearances.
According to ESPN Argentina reporter Federico Bueno, Paz could become Argentina’s next No. 10 if Scaloni extends his contract.
That would represent a significant passing of the torch.
However, the suggestion remains an internal report rather than an official announcement from the AFA or Scaloni.
Argentina have not yet confirmed who will eventually inherit the number.
Messi’s shirt carries more than just a number.
Whoever eventually wears No. 10 will face an enormous burden of expectation.
The number has carried enormous significance in Argentine football long before Messi.
Maradona turned it into one of the most famous shirts in football history, particularly after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986.
Messi subsequently inherited that legacy and created an era of his own.
For more than a decade, seeing the Argentina No. 10 automatically meant seeing Messi.
He wore it through years of disappointment before eventually delivering the major international trophies that had eluded him.
His 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar completed a journey that had included World Cup finals, Copa América defeats and even a brief international retirement in 2016.
FIFA described his 2026 international farewell as the closing of the Argentina chapter for the player who became the defining figure of the Scaloni era.
That makes replacing the number almost as symbolic as replacing the player.
Argentina cannot completely escape the Messi era
Although the No. 10 will eventually belong to somebody else, Argentina are unlikely to move away from Messi’s influence overnight.
The national team that Scaloni built around Messi has already begun developing a new generation of players capable of carrying the country forward.
Nico Paz is among those emerging talents, while other young players are also expected to play increasingly important roles as Argentina transition into the post-Messi era.
But the challenge will be managing expectations.
The next No. 10 will inevitably be compared with a player who became Argentina’s record goalscorer, record appearance-maker and a World Cup-winning captain.
That is an almost impossible standard.
The successor therefore does not necessarily need to become the next Messi.
Argentina’s bigger challenge is creating a team where the responsibility previously carried by one extraordinary player is distributed among an entire generation.
A number Argentina cannot retire
The irony of the situation is that Argentina can preserve Messi’s No. 10 symbolically, but FIFA regulations mean it cannot erase the number from its official tournament squads.
The AFA can leave it unused in certain friendly matches, allowing Messi’s shirt to remain untouched for a period.
But when the next major FIFA tournament arrives, the number will have to be available.
That leaves Argentina with an uncomfortable but inevitable decision.
At some point, another player will walk onto the pitch wearing the same number Messi made legendary.
And whoever that player is will know exactly what comes with it.
For now, however, Argentina are choosing not to rush the moment.
Messi will wear the No. 10 one final time against Benin on October 6, giving the shirt one last appearance alongside the man who transformed it into a symbol of Argentine football.
After that, the countdown to Argentina’s next No. 10 begins.
The shirt cannot be retired forever. But Argentina can decide how, when and to whom one of football’s most iconic numbers is passed on.
The irony of the situation is that Argentina can preserve Messi’s No. 10 symbolically, but FIFA regulations mean it cannot erase the number from its official tournament squads.
The AFA can leave it unused in certain friendly matches, allowing Messi’s shirt to remain untouched for a period.
But when the next major FIFA tournament arrives, the number will have to be available.
That leaves Argentina with an uncomfortable but inevitable decision.
At some point, another player will walk onto the pitch wearing the same number Messi made legendary.
And whoever that player is will know exactly what comes with it.
For now, however, Argentina are choosing not to rush the moment.
Messi will wear the No. 10 one final time against Benin on October 6, giving the shirt one last appearance alongside the man who transformed it into a symbol of Argentine football.
After that, the countdown to Argentina’s next No. 10 begins.
The shirt cannot be retired forever. But Argentina can decide how, when and to whom one of football’s most iconic numbers is passed on.
Olumide Atiba is a sports journalist with THEWILL, known for his keen news sense and compelling storytelling. He has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, well-structured reports that resonate with readers, with a strong focus on football coverage
