River Plate honored Lionel Messi with an honorary membership, a commemorative plaque and a jersey before his final match with the Argentina national team. Club president Stefano Di Carlo presented the gifts minutes before the friendly against Benin in the Estadio Monumental dressing room. The honorary membership bears the inscription “ARG1812022” instead of a regular number. The plaque recognizes Messi as world champion and unbeaten at the Monumental with Argentina, as a football legend and as the nation’s foremost sporting reference. River Plate announced the tribute via an official post on its X account, stating that the greatest player of all time received the card that distinguishes him as an Honorary Member of the Club, the commemorative plaque and the Sacred Mantle with his name. The event took place shortly after Messi announced his retirement from international football. The club aimed to acknowledge Messi’s ties to the institution, where he played in the youth ranks before moving to Barcelona; that period is reflected in the squad data. In 2000 Messi had a trial with River Plate and scored a number of goals against peers, but Newell’s Old Boys withheld his transfer pass, preventing his signing. Currently River Plate sits in the Liga Profesional Argentina with points from matches, recording wins, draw and losses. Their most recent result was a loss to Huracán. The next fixture is at home against Estudiantes de Rio Cuarto, a team currently ranked; the full schedule can be seen in fixtures. The team’s last five results read LWWWD: wins, one draw and one loss.
More detail at viapais.com.ar
