‘We’re not going to mark Messi, we’re just going to enjoy the match’: Benin star admits team will roll out the red carpet for Argentina legend ahead of emotional swansong in Buenos Aires

The man tasked with defending against Lionel Messi for his final match with Argentina has admitted he has no plan to mark the icon.

Argentina are hosting Benin at midnight UK time in Buenos Aires in what is a slightly bizarre swansong for the 2022 World Cup winner. 

The South Americans scheduled low-budget friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso, and Benin for the international break, but have refrained from playing Messi so he is fit for his historic farewell against the latter. 

An Argentinian TV channel called C5N tracked down members of the Benin squad walking around the capital city, and centre-back Tijani Mohamed said: ‘You don’t mark Messi. We are just going to enjoy this match. 

‘I’m going to look at him like this: “Messi, you are God”. 

‘Yes, yes I’ve watched the matches and that’s it, a match with Messi and for me he’s the best in the world, as I’m telling you.

A Benin defender says there is no plan to mark Lionel Messi in his final game for Argentina

The legendary forward is preparing for a farewell match in front of 85,000 fans in Buenos Aires

‘Spain was a very tough team to play against, but I wanted Argentina to win because I really like Messi.

‘Benin is a very, very good team to play with, and I can’t talk about Benin right now because we have to enjoy this match, and we’re going to give everything so that this celebration goes really well.’

The team’s doctor chimed in: ‘He’s the best in the world!’

Messi has played 207 times for Argentina, scoring 125 goals and winning the World Cup alongside two Copa Americas. 

The 39-year-old announced his intention to retire in August, but he had made the decision just two days after losing to Spain in the World Cup final weeks before. 

‘It was a decision that hurt, and still hurts, to my core, but I understand that it’s the right time,’ he wrote on Instagram.

‘I swear that I always gave my all, not just in the last few years when we won everything, but before that too. I always fought and gave everything for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you proud to be Argentinian through football.’

More than 85,000 fans are set to attend Messi’s goodbye at the Estadio Mas Monumental, where members of their 2022 World Cup-winning squad will pay tribute. 

But the build-up to the clash with Benin has been marred by controversy. 

Messi’s penultimate match against Burkina Faso had to be played against the nation’s under-23s.

The first team’s charter flight from Morocco – paid for by Argentina – was cancelled and the players then refused to travel over financial compensation concerns and extreme fatigue. Argentina hammered the unsuspecting youth 7-0.

Now Benin arrive on the back of a 23-hour flight during which their video analyst Jonas Bide reportedly blacked out. 

They got into their hotel only to find there is no hot water, while the artificial turf and gym were deemed too low-standard for a professional team.