-
Cristiano Ronaldo has paid an emotional tribute to Lionel Messi following the Argentine superstar’s final appearance for the national team.
-
Ronaldo praised Messi for the years he spent representing Argentina and said the story he created with his country “will live on forever.”
-
Messi ended his international career with a goal and two assists as Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
-
The tribute adds another memorable chapter to the extraordinary rivalry between two players who dominated world football for more than a decade.
October 07, (THEWILL) – Cristiano Ronaldo has paid an emotional tribute to Lionel Messi following the Argentine superstar’s farewell to international football, praising his long service to Argentina and the legacy he leaves behind.
Messi brought the curtain down on his Argentina career on Tuesday night in front of a packed Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, producing a fitting final performance as the world champions defeated Benin 3-0.
The 39-year-old scored from the penalty spot and provided two assists in his 208th and final appearance for the national team.
As tributes poured in for the Argentina captain, Ronaldo joined the football world in recognising the magnitude of Messi’s international career.
The Portugal captain shared a message directly addressing his long-time rival, highlighting the significance of the Argentine’s years wearing the national-team shirt.
“Leo, so many years defending your country and a story that will live on forever,” Ronaldo wrote.
“You have all my respect for everything you’ve achieved with Argentina. A hug.”
The message from Ronaldo carries particular weight because of the extraordinary history shared by the two football icons.
For more than a decade, Messi and Ronaldo were at the centre of one of the greatest individual rivalries the sport has ever witnessed, constantly competing for records, trophies and individual honours.
Their rivalry was most intense during their years in Spain, when Messi represented Barcelona and Ronaldo played for Real Madrid.
Their battles in El Clásico, as well as their competition for the Ballon d’Or and other individual awards, helped define an era of football.
Yet Ronaldo’s latest message focused not on their rivalry but on Messi’s achievements with Argentina, where his journey was eventually crowned by major international success.
Messi’s relationship with the Argentina national team was not always straightforward.
After establishing himself as one of the world’s greatest players at club level, he endured years of criticism whenever Argentina fell short at major tournaments.
The disappointment reached a particularly painful point after Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and subsequently suffered defeats in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals.
Messi briefly retired from international football after the latter defeat before reversing his decision.
His persistence ultimately transformed his international legacy.
Messi finally lifted his first senior international trophy with Argentina at the 2021 Copa América, before adding the 2022 Finalissima and, most importantly, the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
He later helped Argentina win another Copa América title in 2024.
By the time he walked onto the Monumental pitch for the final time, Messi had gone from a player questioned over his ability to deliver for Argentina to the undisputed centrepiece of one of the country’s most successful football generations.
READ ALSO:
His final appearance provided an appropriately memorable conclusion.
The match against Benin was initially less important than the occasion itself, with supporters arriving to witness the final chapter of Messi’s international career.
More than 85,000 fans filled the Monumental, while the stadium’s atmosphere reflected the significance of the moment.
Messi then delivered on the pitch.
He created Argentina’s opening goal for Nicolás Otamendi before setting up Nico Paz for the second. In the 71st minute, he stepped up to convert a penalty and score his 126th international goal.
The performance took his final Argentina record to 208 appearances and 126 goals, making him both the country’s most-capped player and its all-time leading goalscorer.
For a player whose Argentina career had been defined by enormous expectations, difficult defeats and eventual redemption, there could hardly have been a more fitting ending.
Messi was emotional throughout the farewell, with the stadium giving him a standing ovation during the match and celebrating him long after the final whistle.
The occasion was billed as a night that nobody wanted to end, and the reaction from supporters reflected the emotional connection he had built with the country over more than two decades.
Ronaldo’s message therefore arrives at a significant moment for world football.
For years, comparisons between the Portuguese and Argentine stars dominated conversations about the greatest player of their generation.
Their careers were measured against each other through goals, trophies, records and individual awards, with fans often divided over which player stood above the other.
But as Messi closes the international chapter of his career, Ronaldo’s words offer a reminder of the respect that exists beyond the rivalry.
The two players pushed each other to extraordinary heights during an era in which both repeatedly rewrote football’s record books.
Even when the comparisons between them became intense, each remained an unmistakable figure in the other’s career.
Now Messi has left the Argentina stage as a World Cup winner, two-time Copa América champion and the nation’s record appearance holder and goalscorer.
His international career may be over, but his football career continues at club level with Inter Miami.
And while another chapter awaits Messi, Ronaldo’s simple message captured the significance of what has just ended.
“Your story will live on forever.”
Coming from one of the only players whose career has been repeatedly placed alongside Messi’s, the tribute represents a powerful acknowledgement of the legacy left behind by Argentina’s No.10.
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
