A farewell to international football may be drawing near for Lionel Messi. The Argentine Football Association has included him in its preliminary squad, the extended candidate list from which the final playing group is drawn, for home friendly matches scheduled in September and October. The association described his inclusion as marking a potential final chapter with the national team.
A preliminary squad is a broader list than the group that actually takes the field. Federations name a large pool of players first, giving coaches and medical staff time to evaluate fitness and availability before the final, smaller roster is confirmed closer to the fixtures themselves. Being on the preliminary list puts a player under active consideration. It is the first formal step, not the confirmed one.
The Argentine Football Association, which oversees national team selection, named Messi at this stage, signaling an intent to involve him in the September and October window. Whether he appears in one match, both, or neither will depend on the final squad confirmation that follows.
The fixtures are home friendlies. A friendly is a non-competitive international match with no bearing on qualification standings or tournament draws. Home means Argentina hosts these matches on its own ground, in front of its own supporters, rather than playing as a visiting side elsewhere. That context shapes what these dates could represent if they do become a farewell.
The farewell framing is the association's own and stays conditional throughout. No retirement date has been announced. No single fixture has been named as the last. The word potential is the association's word, and it carries that uncertainty forward. What this actually says is that the Argentine Football Association has named Messi for this window and attached its own significance to that decision.
No opponents, venues, or specific match dates within September or October appeared in the announcement.