Argentina Want to Retire Messi's No. 10 Kit

Jan 1, 2024

by Chris

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AFA Plan: The Argentina Football Association (AFA) intends to retire Lionel Messi's number 10 jersey after he retires from the national team.
FIFA Roadblock: FIFA is unlikely to allow Argentina to retire the number 10 jersey, as they previously blocked a similar attempt to retire Maradona's number 10.
Tournament Impact: FIFA rules stipulate jersey numbers 1-23 are required for tournaments, so retiring the number 10 would mean Argentina could only have a maximum of 22 players.

Argentina Football Association (AFA) has announced plans to retire Lionel Messi's number 10 jersey for the national team after the superstar forward retires.

AFA President Wants to Retire Messi's No. 10 Kit - FIFA Certainly Won't Allow It

Claudio Tapia, the president of AFA, announced the news in a press conference, stating that nobody else will wear the number 10 jersey after Messi's retirement.

FIFA already blocked it when Argentina wanted to retire Maradona's No. 10

"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," Argentina Football Federation president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia told an Argentine newspaper as quoted by Marca.

Retiring a single number is a common phenomenon in club football, but it is not a practice at the national level. The AFA previously tried to retire Maradona's number 10 jersey but was turned down by FIFA.

Theoretically, Argentina could only have a maximum of 22 players if they would not assign the number 10 to any player

In FIFA tournaments, only numbers 1-23 are allowed. This means that in theory, Argentina could only have a maximum of 22 players if they would not assign the number 10 to any player.

Retired Numbers in Football - Examples - Clubs Only

Should any club or team retire any number? What do you think of the AFA's plan to retire Messi's number 10 jersey? Do you think FIFA will loosen its rules anytime? Let us know in the comments below text.