Lionel Messi Farewell: Argentina Slammed For Treatment Of Benin Players In Friendly Match

Lionel Messi and the other Argentina players "did not give anything" to the Benin players.© AFP

A massive revelation has come to light following Lionel Messi's emotional farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin earlier this week. Gernot Rohr, the manager of the West African nation, has alleged that Messi and the other Argentina players "did not give anything" to the Benin players. The German manager, who previously led Nigeria from 2016 to 2021, also revealed that the travelling contingent was not allowed to take pictures with the Argentina captain or exchange shirts after the match, as is customary.

"My players tried everything, but nothing worked. The Argentinians didn't give our players anything, not even a photo with Messi," Rohr told RMC Sport.

Despite the 3-0 loss to the three-time world champions, Rohr suggested the experience could have been much better for his players had Argentina acknowledged them more warmly.

Despite the 3-0 loss to the three-time world champions, Rohr suggested the experience could have been much better for his players had Argentina been more accommodating towards them.

"We wanted to exchange shirts, but we didn't get any. They wouldn't even allow us to enter their player corridor. Security was turning everyone away. Players were coming with their shirts hoping to swap them with Argentina players," the 73-year-old added.

Rohr also revealed that he had to wait 30 minutes after full-time before his counterpart, Lionel Scaloni, signed an old match-worn Messi shirt that he had in his possession.

On the field, the first half ended goalless before Argentina broke the deadlock shortly after the restart. Messi created the opening goal in the 48th minute, setting up Nicolas Otamendi, who made no mistake to put the hosts ahead.

Messi was at the heart of Argentina's second goal as well, teeing up Nico Paz for a superb curling effort that doubled the advantage and sent the home crowd into celebration.

The 39-year-old then completed the scoring from the penalty spot, calmly converting to make it 3-0 and adding another memorable moment to an extraordinary international career.

As the final whistle sounded, Messi embraced his Argentina teammates on the pitch as supporters filled the stadium with chants and applause. The emotional scenes brought a fitting close to an era in which the forward transformed Argentina's fortunes on the international stage.

(With ANI Inputs)

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