Lionel Messi's Farewell: Argentina Faces a New Era
Lionel Messi is edging towards the final whistle of his international career, and Argentina can already feel the chill of what comes next.
At 39, he will walk away as the country’s record appearance holder and goalscorer, with 125 goals in 207 caps for the reigning 2022 World Cup champions. Those numbers are staggering. The void will be worse.
Alexis Mac Allister knows it. You can hear it in the way he talks about his captain, and in the way he talks about the future.
“There will never be another like him”
Speaking to ESPN, the midfielder didn’t bother searching for new superlatives. There aren’t any left.
“The words for Messi are always the same: gratitude, and the realisation that there will never be another like him,” Mac Allister said. “We’ve enjoyed our time with him immensely. We’re also grateful to him for everything he’s helped us win. It’s sure to be a very emotional occasion.”
Messi’s farewell will not just be about nostalgia and tears. It will force a complete rethink of how Argentina play. For almost two decades, the national team has bent itself around his left foot. When it mattered most in Qatar, he “made all the difference,” as Mac Allister put it.
That difference is about to disappear.
“It will be a different process with new players coming in,” the Liverpool man explained. “We need to start realising that the best player in the world, the one who made all the difference, won’t be there anymore, and that we’ll have to grow stronger as a team.”
No talk of a new Messi. No saviour waiting in the wings. Just a group that will have to harden, share the responsibility, and learn to win without the man who defined an era.
Ballon d’Or backing
Before he goes, there is still the question of one more individual prize.
Messi’s World Cup masterclass in Qatar continues to echo through the awards cycle, and Mac Allister made his stance clear when asked about the Ballon d’Or race.
“As Argentines we’d love for Messi to win it. He had an incredible World Cup and I don’t see why he shouldn’t be awarded it,” he said. “We all know that Leo has always prioritised the team over individual achievements, so it wouldn’t be a big deal for him.”
For Argentina’s dressing room, though, it would be another line in the legend, another trophy tied to that winter in 2022 when everything finally clicked.
Club uncertainty at Anfield
While he weighs up a future without Messi in sky blue and white, Mac Allister is wrestling with uncertainty in red as well.
The midfielder has already admitted he felt a sting when Liverpool moved to extend the contracts of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, but not his. For a player who has become a key part of the midfield rebuild, the silence over a new deal has not gone unnoticed.
He chose to stay at Anfield in the summer despite chances to leave. That loyalty has not yet been rewarded with clarity.
“There’s no firm decision yet. I still have two years left on my contract,” he said. “As I said, I’m going to give it my all. A lot can happen in that time; there are plenty of options.”
No ultimatum. No drama. Just a hint that the next move is still very much in play.
Mac Allister’s tone about Liverpool, though, remains warm, almost protective.
“Hopefully it’ll be for more years, but if it’s just two, I’ll have to enjoy them with my family, because I have no doubt that I’m at one of the best clubs in the world.”
Two crossroads, one player. A national team bracing for life after its greatest icon, and a midfielder quietly considering what comes after Anfield. Argentina’s next era is coming fast. The question is whether Mac Allister will be leading it from the heart of their midfield, and from which club stage he’ll be walking into that new world.
