Lionel Messi broke down into tears as he paid an emotional farewell to Argentina supporters in his final competitive home match last night.

The superstar bowed out with an impressive two-goal performance in a 3-0 victory against Venezuela in front of a raucous sellout crowd at the Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires, before hinting he could retire ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Emotions were highly charged during his last official game in his homeland, which he had labelled ‘very, very special’ in the build-up.

Messi couldn’t hold back the tears as the crowd chanted his name during the warm-ups, while his proud family watched on from the stands. He was then joined by his three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, for the walkout and national anthems.

Now 38, Messi, widely viewed as one of the sport’s greatest-ever players, warned that he would only play at the World Cup if his body allowed him to.

‘Same as I said before about the World Cup that I don’t think I’ll play another,’ he told reporters. ‘Because of my age, the most logical thing is that I won’t make it. But well, we’re almost there, so I’m excited and motivated to play it.

Lionel Messi was moved to tears ahead of his likely final home game for Argentina

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Messi was joined by his three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, for the national anthems

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Antonela Roccuzzo, the superstar’s proud wife, watched on from the stands in Buenos Aires

‘Like I always say, I go day by day, going by how I feel.

‘I’m trying to feel good and, above all, being honest with myself. When I feel good, I enjoy it, but when I don’t, honestly, I don’t have a good time, so I prefer not to be there if I don’t feel good. So we’ll see. I haven’t made a decision about the World Cup.

‘I’ll finish the season, then I’ll have preseason, and there will be six months left.

‘So, we’ll see how I feel. Hopefully, I’ll have a good preseason in 2026 and finish this MLS season well, and then I’ll decide.’

Messi also reflected on his fairytale goodbye after a magical night, adding: ‘This year we had a lot of matches, a lot of sequences of games. Luckily, I was able to play three in a row; it’s day by day, feeling the sensations.

‘It’s clear that today was the last one with points at stake here, but day by day I try to feel good and, above all, be honest with myself. If I feel good, I enjoy it.

‘If I feel bad, I’d rather not be here. A lot of things happened, being able to finish this way here was what I always dreamed of.

‘Being able to celebrate with my people… for many years I received a lot of affection at Barcelona, ​​and my dream was to also have it here, in my country, with my people. For many years, many things were said, but I’m left with all the good we did.’

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Messi bowed out on a high, scoring twice in a 3-0 victory against Venezuela

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But he admitted he will only take part at the 2026 World Cup if his body allows him to

Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, posted a glowing tribute on Instagram. She wrote: ‘Proud of you, every step you take and everything you built with love and effort.

‘How lucky are we to be with you on this path!!! We love you.’

Ahead of the match, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni was also moved to tears while discussing Messi’s final competitive outing for his country.

‘This is a match which Leo has said will be emotional, special, nice because it’s true that it’s our last qualifying match. We have to enjoy it, as we’ve always been saying,’ Scaloni said during his press conference. ‘More than anyone, I will enjoy it.

‘Having been able to coach him has honestly been a pleasure and let’s hope that fans who go to the stadium will also enjoy it because he truly deserves it.

‘Tomorrow will be a nice match. I’m sure that it won’t be his last game in Argentina and I say that we’ll make sure that if he decides it’s the last game, we play another because it’s obvious to do that in the right moment and because he deserves it.

‘He earned the right to decide when to stop. He will always have support.’

Argentina will next play Ecuador next week but Messi will not take part, citing fatigue.

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The 38-year-old waved to the crowd as they chanted his name on a magical night

He led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022 at the age of 35, before insisting it would ‘surely’ be his last participation on the biggest stage in international football.

The all-time great has scored 112 international goals in 193 appearances.