'Not seeing you wearing the No. 10 shirt'

Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernández was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears as he listened to Lionel Messi deliver an emotional farewell speech following Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Benin at the Monumental Stadium.

As the Argentina captain addressed thousands of fans during the emotional ceremony, cameras captured Fernández crying while listening to his childhood football idol. The moment quickly went viral on social media.

Speaking to TyC Sports after the match, Fernández described the occasion as an emotional one filled with mixed feelings.

“Honestly, it was a very emotional day. There were many mixed feelings. I hope Leo enjoyed the night. We are going to miss him a lot.''

For Fernández, Messi’s farewell was about much more than the end of an international career. Messi has been his football idol since childhood, and their relationship carries the weight of a dream that began when Fernández was just 15.

In 2016, when Messi announced his decision to step away from international football, Fernández wrote a letter urging him to return. Even then, the young midfielder dreamed of one day wearing the Argentina shirt alongside Messi.

That dream eventually became reality—and went far beyond what Fernández had imagined.

He not only played alongside Messi on numerous occasions but also shared a dressing room and training sessions with him before helping Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In a recent farewell letter to Messi, Fernández recalled how he used to calculate whether he would reach the senior team in time to play alongside his idol.

“When you said you were leaving the national team, I was very sad. I was just a child. I used to calculate your age and mine and wonder if I would ever get to play with you,” Fernández wrote.

His childhood ambition was simply to share the pitch with Messi. Instead, he went on to become a World Cup champion alongside him.

Fernández also reflected on the way Messi treated him from the beginning.

“I came with the dream of sharing the pitch with my idol, but from the very first moment, you made me feel like one of the team,” he wrote.

He said he would remember the small gestures from Messi, including words of encouragement, advice, hugs and moments of reassurance during difficult times.

Fernández admitted that imagining Argentina’s next camp without Messi will be difficult.

“Today, it is hard for me to imagine the next camp without you. Going onto the pitch and not seeing you there, not seeing you wearing the No. 10 shirt--it is impossible to imagine,” he wrote.

For a generation of Argentine players who grew up watching Messi wear the iconic No. 10, his departure marks the end of an era.

Looking back on the journey from an aspiring teenager to a World Cup winner alongside his idol, Fernández wrote: “How lucky I was, Leo. How lucky that child was who used to calculate whether he would arrive in time.”

He ended his tribute with a message of gratitude to Messi for the way he treated him, the lessons he taught him and the opportunity to share part of his remarkable career.

At the Monumental, Fernández’s tears reflected the extraordinary journey he had taken with his childhood hero—from watching Messi as a young fan to becoming his teammate and a world champion alongside him.

For Fernández, Messi’s farewell was therefore not simply an ending. It was the emotional close of a childhood dream that had come true.