Coach Points Out Lionel Messi’s New Low
OpenLife News reports that a coach has pointed Lionel Messi’s new low at the final point of exiting football.
According to the story, it was supposed to be a celebration. A farewell. The night the world stopped to honour Lionel Messi one last time in Argentina colours. Against Benin Republic at the Monumental, the script was written — goals, tears, a lap of honour, and a global tribute to the greatest of his generation.
But for the men who were invited to be part of history, the night ended in cold, awkward silence.
And now, Benin Republic assistant coach, Tunde Adelakun, is calling it what many inside the stadium felt but dared not say, “A new low.”
In an exclusive, emotionally charged assessment, Adelakun has labelled Argentina’s treatment of his players during Leo Messi’s farewell match as ‘disturbing’ — accusing the World Champions of going out of their way to avoid his team.
The Hurried Handshakes
Adelakun, who stood on the touchline as Messi took his final bow, said the disrespect was unmistakable from the final whistle.“What struck me was the very obvious and blatant refusal of the Argentina team to want to have anything to do with my team after the game.
“Handshakes at the end of the game were hurried and impersonal. And any attempt by our players to get close to the man they came to celebrate was rebuffed rather in a very hostile manner by the security operatives on ground.
They clearly collectively did not want to be on the same place with my Benin team. It was rather disturbing.”
For a Benin squad — many of whom grew up idolizing Messi, wearing his Barcelona and Argentina shirts in the dusty pitches of Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Parakou — the match was more than a friendly. It was a pilgrimage. They came to celebrate him.
They left feeling invisible.
The Detour That Defined The Night
The most damning moment, according to Adelakun, came during what should have been the most unifying act of the night — Messi’s lap of honour.
Analysis of the footage shows Benin players voluntarily lining up, not to mob him, not to demand shirts, but simply to form a guard of honour, to applaud him as he passed.
What happened next stunned them.”Again toward the end of the lap, some of my players lined along what was to be his natural path to end the lap of honour.
“He was leading. My boys were there. Just wanting him to walk towards them and for them to applaud and appreciate him.
“Right at the very last moment, Leo made a wild detour and, consciously avoiding the crowd of Benin players that had formed, walked toward the centre of the pitch.
“That was a new low for a man revered by many and who, in many young African minds, could do no wrong.”
In football analytics, we call that a “deliberate avoidance action” — a conscious change of direction to avoid engagement. It lasted three seconds, but the symbolism was seismic.
Analysis: When Greatness Forgets Grace
This is not about football tactics. Argentina won. Messi wept. The fireworks went up. The analytics of the game itself — possession, xG, final third entries — are irrelevant.
This is about the architecture of farewell.Messi’s entire career was built on two pillars: genius and humility. The shy boy from Rosario who let his feet speak.
The antithesis to the arrogance of modern superstars. That humility is what made African kids in Benin, Nigeria, Ghana and beyond choose him over his rivals.
On his final night, that pillar cracked. Was it Messi’s personal decision, or a security protocol gone too far? Adelakun’s account suggests it was collective.
“They clearly collectively did not want to be on the same place with my Benin team.
“If it was security, then Argentina’s handlers failed to read the room. You don’t need hostile security to protect Messi from fellow professionals who just want to clap.”
If it was instruction from the Argentine camp to avoid fraternizing with a “small” African opponent during a historic moment, then it reveals a troubling hierarchy — where the invited guests become props, not participants.
For Benin Republic, ranked over 90 places below Argentina, being invited was an honour. But being ignored on that stage sends a dangerous message to African football: You can be called upon to make up the numbers for history, but you are not worthy of sharing in it.
Great players are remembered for how they played. Legends are remembered for how they left.
On a night that should have elevated Messi’s myth into immortality, the Benin bench will remember a wild detour away from them — a detour that, in their eyes, defined his final exit.
A farewell should be warm. This one, for 23 men in yellow and green, was chillingly cold.
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