The Argentine national team will retire the number 10 jersey

In football, there are many divisive aspects, and one of the most popular ones is the retirement of a player's jersey number, which holds a special significance for having contributed significantly to a club's or national team's history. Fan opinions typically split between those who argue that retiring a number denies young players the dream of wearing their idol's number one day and those who believe that certain players deserve to be immortalized by retiring their jersey numbers due to their sacred aura. The issue becomes even more intricate when it involves a jersey with the number 10 on the back, a conventionally magical number often associated with the team's technical leader, one of the most coveted roles in football across generations.

In recent days, the decision made by Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA (Argentine Football Association), has caused a stir. According to reports, Tapia declared, «When Messi retires from the national team, no one else will be allowed to wear the number 10; the number will be retired for life in his honor. It's the least we can do for him.» Lionel Messi, instrumental in Argentina's victory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, has not disclosed information about his retirement from the national team. While it remains uncertain whether he will participate in the next World Cup, he might feature in the 2024 Copa America, where Argentina will defend their title. Tapia's initiative echoes that of Julio Grondona, AFA president in 2002, who wanted to retire the number 10 in honor of Diego Armando Maradona. However, he was unable to do so due to a FIFA rule at the time, which mandated teams in major international competitions to wear numbers from 1 to 23.