Lionel Messi’s 21-year career with Argentina ended before a sold-out stadium. The brand that had dressed him for two decades responded with a shirt bearing his name, not its own, and pointed to the next phase of their partnership.
Lionel Messi was already in tears before kickoff. On Oct. 6, he was pictured crying on the Argentina team bus as it crawled past fans lining the road to the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Officially a friendly against Benin, the match was Messi’s last tango: a farewell to the Argentine national team.
More than 85,000 tickets sold out in 90 minutes. Seats priced at roughly $60 to $300 later changed hands for more than $2,500.
Whatever they paid, the fans got the show they came for. Messi set up Nicolás Otamendi’s header from a corner and Nico Paz’s curling finish before scoring from the penalty spot in the 71st minute to seal a 3-0 win, his 126th goal in his 208th appearance. Afterward, a drone show traced his career across the night sky, and Messi told the crowd that playing for Argentina was “the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”
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A career that began with a red card ended with a stadium singing his name
Messi’s debut, on Aug. 17, 2005, against Hungary, lasted less than a minute before the referee sent him off. Argentina took longer to embrace him. For years, fans invoked Diego Maradona to remind Messi of the standard he had yet to meet.
The 2021 Copa América began to thaw that relationship, and the World Cup in Qatar completed it. This June, Messi broke the all-time World Cup scoring record forty years to the day after Maradona scored twice against England in Mexico City. Argentina has rarely seen such a neat symmetry.
The farewell was also a balance sheet
Every sponsor wants to be inside a moment like this, and almost none can manufacture one. What adidas has had for 20 years, and extended for life in 2017, is a share of an emotion that converts in numbers:
- Advertising share: 22 percent of major World Cup campaigns in the US, the UK and Argentina featured Messi, according to System1.
- Boot share: the F50 was the most worn boot of the tournament, on 228 players (18.27 percent), according to Footpack.
- Revenue forecast: around €250 million in World Cup product revenue, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
- Club value: about $1.45 billion for Inter Miami, the highest in MLS, where Messi’s pay reportedly includes a share of adidas merchandise performance.
Messi has also stopped being only a client. His production company 525 Rosario runs a youth tournament, and he bought a fifth-tier Spanish club in April.
Adidas took its own logo off Argentina’s shirt
The brand built the story in installments over the summer: a capsule with Kith on May 29, a signature boot inspired by Messi’s first World Cup in 2006 and a “Record breaker. History maker.” image released moments after his goals in Arlington. On the night of the final, Adidas ran a short ad that ended with two words: “Gracias, Leo.”
The final installment arrived on Sept. 25, when Adidas released a gold-trimmed Argentina jersey featuring a reinterpretation of the Sun of May from the national flag. In place of the adidas performance logo, the jersey carried Messi’s signature mark.
Brands rarely remove their own logos from national-team jerseys. Adidas did so because Messi’s mark has been a label in its own right since the mid-2010s, when the company gave him an “M” logo and launched the Messi 15 line. The collection, which included pre-match apparel and culture wear, went on sale 11 days before Messi wore the shirt. The farewell had a retail date before it had a kickoff.
The next chapter is already in production
Messi’s Argentina career has ended, but his commercial calendar continues to unfold. He is under contract with Inter Miami through 2028, and adidas supplies the league’s kits.
The next confirmed date is summer 2027, when the animated series Messi and the Giants is scheduled to debut on Disney+ and Disney Channel in the US. Sony is a partner, Messi is a co-executive producer, and adidas will produce a kids’ footwear, apparel and accessories line tied to the show.
There is also another idea for 2027. Footy Headlines has reported that adidas is planning a project linking Messi with Lamine Yamal, possibly a collection. Nothing is official: no design, date or product has been confirmed, and so far the project appears to be little more than talks.
The connection between Messi and Yamal began with a famous image: a 2007 photograph of Messi holding baby Yamal. Yamal now has several signature F50 editions and appeared with Messi last summer in the Adidas Backyard Legends film and a Dick’s Sporting Goods campaign. He also comes from the country that beat Argentina in July’s final, making him a candidate for the Ballon d’Or.
Argentina hasn’t named an heir to the No. 10 shirt, and coach Lionel Scaloni has said the decision can wait. We can wait, too.
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”After all this time since the final, and after thinking about it a lot, I want to tell everyone that I’m retiring from the national team…It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts deeply, but I understand that the time has come.
I swear I always gave everything—not just in the years when we won it all, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentine through soccer. There isn’t much time left, and chapters are coming to a close.
This is one that hurts a lot. I love, have loved and will always love being part of the national team. I gave everything I had; I have nothing left to give. And there are some very talented young players coming up behind me who deserve their chance.Thank you for all the love over these 20 years. I’m going to miss hearing you from inside the stadium.
Now I’ll be one of you, always cheering and supporting from the outside - in good times and bad, especially the bad.Thank you to my family for always being there and for accompanying me on this wonderful but difficult journey. Thank you to every coach, teammate and club official I had the chance to share it with. I’m taking with me memories and unforgettable moments.
I leave with the peace of mind and pride of knowing that, together with my teammates, we gave you moments you’d only dream of.
Living them with you was incredible. I love you!
Thank you, God, for making me Argentine.
Let’s go, Argentina!”
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