Roma Block Dybala and Molina From Messi's Farewell

Roma have confirmed that Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not be released for Lionel Messi's farewell with Argentina, even though both players received a personal invitation from Messi himself to attend the send-off against Benin on 6 October at the Estadio Monumental.

The club set out its reasoning in a statement issued on Tuesday, addressing the significance of the occasion for two players who shared a dressing room with Messi during Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar.

«will not attend the event being held in Argentina for the match between Argentina and Benin on 6 October The Club acknowledges the significance of the occasion for both players, who share a close bond with Lionel Messi and were part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning team alongside him. for sporting and logistical reasons, taking into account the length of the intercontinental journey and the proximity of the Club’s upcoming competitive fixtures. AS Roma has the utmost respect for Lionel Messi and his extraordinary career and wishes him and the Argentine Football Association a very special evening».

Neither player would have featured against Benin regardless. Dybala was left out of Lionel Scaloni's squad for the window, while Molina is still working through a seven-match international ban handed down after the incidents that followed the 2026 World Cup final against Spain. Their trip would have been symbolic rather than sporting — a reunion with the captain they lifted the trophy alongside, nothing more.

Roma's own calendar shaped the decision. Gian Piero Gasperini's side return to Serie A against Como on 11 October before a Champions League tie with Real Madrid, and the club was unwilling to have Molina — signed by Roma this September and yet to open his account for the club — take two intercontinental flights inside a matchday week already tightened by fixtures.

Messi's international career formally ended earlier this month, when he announced his retirement from the Argentina national team after 21 years and 125 goals. The Benin fixture at the 85,018-capacity Monumental was arranged as his farewell, with the Argentine federation set to pause the match in the 10th minute for a nationwide ovation. Roma's refusal means two of the players closest to that history will watch it from Trigoria rather than the stands in Buenos Aires.