The defense Nicolás Otamendi, former player of Benfica and FC Porto, considered “a privilege” to have shared the course in the Argentine football team with Lionel Messi, shortly after both of them had said goodbye to the ‘albiceleste’.
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07/10/2026
by
Lusa
“Hoje finish this step together as players of this great argentina selection. And if this day was ever special, sharing it with Messi makes it even more unforgettable. The best player of all time, the one who taught us never to stop believing, to lift us up after each blow and defend this sweater with the heart ", wrote Otamendi, on social networks.
The 38-year-old defense, which recently left Benfica, after six seasons at the service of the ‘incarnates’, to sign for River Plate, took over the ‘privilege’ for having been part and “witnessed a story that will remain forever in football and in the heart of all Argentines”.
“ Wearing this sweater was, is and will always be one of the greatest prides of my life. Every training, every match, every trip, every hug and every time I heard the hymn will be forever in my memory”, says the player, who arrived in Europe in 2010 to represent FC Porto, from Vélez Sarsfield.
Otamendi added 140 internationalizations and scored nine goals, the last of which in the victory of Tuesday, by 3-0, on Benin, in which Messi, the figure of the night, also ‘favored’, on the day of ‘goodbye’ to albiceleste, before 85,000 spectators, in the Monumental Stadium, in the Argentine capital.