FIFA regulations have prevented Argentina from permanently retiring Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 jersey, this comes after reports that AFA is planning to retire the no. 10 jersey in honour of Messi’s Legacy.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) had reportedly planned to retire the shirt following Messi’s expected retirement from international football after more than two decades with the national team.

Messi, who announced on August 31 that he would step away from international duty, is expected to make his farewell appearance before the Argentine public on October 6, when Argentina face Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

The Inter Miami forward has made 207 appearances for Argentina and scored 125 goals, wearing the No. 10 shirt for most of his international career.

However, FIFA regulations require teams participating in international final tournaments to use squad numbers from 1 to 26. As a result, Argentina cannot permanently retire the No. 10 jersey.

Liberia faced a similar situation after retiring the No. 14 shirt in honour of former striker and president George Weah. FIFA regulations later required the country to make the number available during its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has yet to decide who will inherit Messi’s famous shirt. He said the team would not be required to assign the number immediately and that it would remain unused until after Messi’s farewell match.

“We are not obliged to assign it for the upcoming matches, so we will give it to no one until after Leo’s farewell match. We just have not yet decided who,” Scaloni said.

Meanwhile, according to reports, Nico Paz is the leading candidate to take over the No. 10 shirt if Scaloni extends his contract as Argentina coach.

Paz, 22, is an attacking midfielder who developed at Real Madrid before joining Italian club Como permanently for €60 million last summer. He has made 11 appearances for Argentina, scoring one goal.