Several years after attempting to honor the late Diego Maradona by retiring his iconic number 10 jersey, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has once again expressed its intention to do the same for Lionel Messi, another football legend and World Cup winner.
Messi, considered one of the most accomplished footballers ever, also dons the number 10 jersey, just like Maradona, who is remembered as one of the greatest in his era.
When Maradona ended his football career, Julio Grondona, the then-president of AFA, along with other officials, proposed not to assign the number ten jersey to any other player in the national team.
However, FIFA rejected this proposal due to a rule requiring teams to use jersey numbers from 1 to 23 in major tournaments, including the World Cup.
After the decision to retire Maradona’s number 10 jersey, Ariel Ortega wore it for the last time in a match against Peru before Lionel Messi became the next wearer of this iconic number.
Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of the current era, achieved his first World Cup victory with Argentina in 2022 in Qatar, defeating the reigning champions France in a memorable penalty shootout. This victory further solidified his status as a legendary player.
In recognition of Messi’s contributions and achievements, AFA president Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia expressed that retiring Messi’s number 10 jersey (after he retires from national football) is the least they can do to honor his service to the country.
“When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. This number ’10’ will be retired for life in his honor. It’s the least we can do for him,” AFA president Tapia told an Argentine newspaper.
