Argentina Want to Retire Messi's No. 10 Kit
Argentina Football Association (AFA) has announced plans to retire Lionel Messi's number 10 jersey for the national team after the superstar forward retires.
AFA President Wants to Retire Messi's No. 10 Kit - FIFA Certainly Won't Allow It
Claudio Tapia, the president of AFA, announced the news in a press conference, stating that nobody else will wear the number 10 jersey after Messi's retirement.
FIFA already blocked it when Argentina wanted to retire Maradona's No. 10
"When Messi retires from the national team, we will not allow anyone else to wear the number 10 after him. This number '10' will be retired for life in his honor. It's the least we can do for him," Argentina Football Federation president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia told an Argentine newspaper as quoted by Marca.
Retiring a single number is a common phenomenon in club football, but it is not a practice at the national level. The AFA previously tried to retire Maradona's number 10 jersey but was turned down by FIFA.
Theoretically, Argentina could only have a maximum of 22 players if they would not assign the number 10 to any player
In FIFA tournaments, only numbers 1-23 are allowed. This means that in theory, Argentina could only have a maximum of 22 players if they would not assign the number 10 to any player.
Retired Numbers in Football - Examples - Clubs Only
Should any club or team retire any number? What do you think of the AFA's plan to retire Messi's number 10 jersey? Do you think FIFA will loosen its rules anytime? Let us know in the comments below text.
