Published : 25 Sep 2026, 04:26 PM
Updated : 25 Sep 2026, 04:26 PM
Tickets for Lionel Messi’s final match for Argentina sold out in around 90 minutes as fans rushed to secure seats for the Oct 6 farewell against Benin at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium.
Sales opened through the Deportick platform at 6pm local time on Thursday and demand was immediate, with thousands of supporters placed in virtual queues.
Argentine newspaper Clarín reported that the event was effectively sold out within an hour and a half, while Diario Popular and Olé also put the sellout at about 90 minutes.
La Nación reported waits of more than an hour for some users, with complaints appearing on social media as supporters struggled to access the ticketing system.
The cheapest general-admission tickets cost 90,000 Argentine pesos, while the most expensive seats were priced at 480,000 pesos, according to ticket information published by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
The sale had originally been scheduled for earlier in the week before the AFA pushed it back by 48 hours to Thursday.
Messi, 39, will play his 208th and final international when Argentina face Benin, having retired from the national team after their defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
The AFA confirmed earlier this month that Messi will join the squad specifically for the last of Argentina’s three home friendlies during the international window.
Argentina face Bolivia in Cordoba on Sept 30 and Burkina Faso at the Monumental on Oct 3 before Messi returns for his farewell three days later. Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso are also due to join the squad for the Benin match.
The speed of the sellout underlined the demand to see Messi in Argentina colours one final time after a 21-year international career in which he became the country’s record appearance-maker and goalscorer.
