Messi's farewell match for Argentina. Fans flooded TikTok and Instagram with Messi farewell tributes; searches for his last game confirmed it
The spike
Social and search spiked together on Oct 7.Verified: the top posts on the social peak day were hand-checked and are about this trend.
Why it’s trending
When a hero says goodbye, we don't just lose a player, we lose the years of our lives he was part of.
What’s happening
Messi’s Argentina farewell against Benin took place at the Monumental in Buenos Aires on 6 October 2026. Argentina won 3–0. Fans shared tribute montages, goodbyes and questions about watching the match and his retirement.
What content is working
Trending hashtags
The tags people used most on posts about this trend, ranked by number of posts. Generic tags like #fyp and #viral are left out.
- #messi 272 posts
- #argentina 186 posts
- #leomessi 63 posts
- #lionelmessi 74 posts
- #football 53 posts
- #soccer 42 posts
- #goat 20 posts
- #farewell 16 posts
- #seleccionargentina 8 posts
- #intermiami 18 posts
Sentiment
Automatic sentiment labels across 485 posts and 400 comments.
The other side · what’s negative
Real backlashGrumbling centres on Roma refusing to release Dybala and Molina for the farewell, plus a few fans doubting Messi's retirement history.
The negative videos
Safe to celebrate Messi with warmth and gratitude. Avoid Ronaldo comparisons and club-versus-country jabs; keep it about thank-yous and memories.
What people are saying in comments
You think you can just leave us like that and you're smiling about it!! How could you leave us
My mind is only on 6th, I don't know how cry that day
Na bro is too young to retire
A good dancer knows when to leave the stage
He is the reason I fell In Love with football
Messi is the goat of the goats and celebrity for celebrities
Messi se merece un Nobel
Te amo lio Messi
Lionel Messi el ejemplo. Hermoso resumen
The man who carried Argentina
Where was the respect to messi before 2022 he earned it
The Roma team are haters...
This is about professionalism , Roma know what to do .. its their rules , not yours .. so stop complaining
Bro you do know Messi retired 3-4 times from the national team when things werent going his way ?
People so easily forgot that these so called Argentines burned Messi's posters and banners in front of his house.
Remember when even Argentina hated him for being a choke artist? Cus I remember.
The content strategy we observed
Fans share farewell edits, a pitch-side thank-you and reactions to Messi’s Argentina goodbye.
#1 opens with a farewell edit recalling Messi’s heartbreaks and World Cup win. #2 shows him addressing the crowd with the trophy.#1 #2
#1 recalls the setbacks and World Cup triumph; #2 gives supporters a direct thank-you from Messi.#1 #2
Mostly talking to camera or one moment with a caption.#1 #2 #3
Emotional and respectful; only one light joke.#1 #2 #3 #5
The top videos went up between Oct 2 and Oct 7: 8 of 9 before Google searches peaked on Oct 7. Social views peaked on Oct 7.#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9
Let someone close to Messi say thank you, posted days before the match.
What can brands do?
Raise a glass to the goodbye
“Camera on a watch-party table with one empty chair and a raised glass, text: 'Gracias, Leo.'”
- Format
- Fan watch-party video, 15 seconds, no match footage
- Platform
- TikTok and Instagram Reels
- Who posts
- Beverage brand with real fan creators at a watch party
- Caption
- Some goodbyes deserve a full table. Who are you toasting tonight? #GraciasLeo
- When to post
- Next few days while farewell posts peak
- Watch out
- Don't use Messi's name, image or match footage without a licence; keep it fan-led.