Argentina’s attempt to permanently retire Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 jersey has reportedly been stopped by FIFA regulations.
According to GOAL.com, the Argentine Football Association had planned to retire the famous shirt following Messi’s decision to end his international career after more than two decades with the national team.
Messi announced on August 31 that he would retire from international football. The Inter Miami forward is expected to make his farewell appearance in front of Argentine fans on October 6, when Argentina hosts Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The 39-year-old has made 207 international appearances and scored 125 goals for Argentina, wearing the No. 10 shirt for most of his international career.
However, FIFA rules require teams participating in international final tournaments to use squad numbers from 1 to 26, meaning Argentina cannot permanently retire the No. 10 jersey.
Liberia faced a similar situation after retiring the No. 14 shirt in honour of former striker and president George Weah. FIFA later required the number to be used during Liberia’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has not yet confirmed who will take over Messi’s famous shirt.
“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,” ESPN quoted Scaloni as saying.
Meanwhile, ESPN Argentina reporter Federico Bueno claimed that Nico Paz could eventually inherit the shirt if Scaloni remains in charge.
“If Scaloni extends his contract as Argentina head coach, then Nico Paz will be the new number 10. That has been decided internally,” Bueno said.
Paz, 22, is an attacking midfielder who came through Real Madrid before completing a permanent move to Italian club Como for €60m last summer. He has earned 11 caps for Argentina and scored once.
