Emiliano Martinez Reveals Argentina's Barbecue Plan for Messi's Farewell
Argentina’s squad already got the party started for Lionel Messi’s farewell, welcoming him home with "cuddles and a barbecue," per www.si.com. Messi will bid farewell to Argentina on Tuesday against Benin at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, but the celebration began before he even arrived.
"We spoke, and he's arriving to camp on Sunday night," goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said after Argentina’s 7-0 win over Burkina Faso on Saturday. "We'll make an asado [barbecue] at our base camp with him, and we'll try to cuddle him for the little time he has left."
Martinez stuck to his word. The goalkeeper posted a video on social media Sunday night showing the barbecue preparations, getting Messi’s send-off started early.
"We'll try to make sure he enjoys it as much as possible," Martinez said. "Fill him with cuddles, kisses and for him to be happy."
The specific menu or guest list for the barbecue has not been confirmed.
THE 7-0 WARM-UP
Argentina destroyed Burkina Faso 7-0 on Saturday in its final match before Messi’s farewell occasion, per www.si.com. The win set the stage for Tuesday’s landmark match against Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The venue for Saturday’s match was not specified in the source. Match details beyond the 7-0 scoreline, including scorers and lineups, are not confirmed.
Martinez addressed the squad’s welcome plan for Messi in his post-victory comments, revealing the team had already coordinated his arrival. The goalkeeper’s words came right after the demolition of Burkina Faso, with the farewell party already in motion.
The 7-0 result capped a dominant warm-up, sending Argentina into Messi’s final match with momentum and a squad clearly focused on sending their captain off in style.
A CAREER OF HONOR
Martinez’s voice carried the weight of nearly four years of shared triumph as he reflected on what it meant to help Messi finally lift the trophies that had eluded him for so long.
“It was one of the greatest honors of my career, trying to help him achieve what he wanted to badly,” Martinez said post-victory, per www.si.com. The goalkeeper’s words cut straight to the heart of a partnership that transformed Argentina’s fortunes.
“He’s the greatest player of all time, and I feel part of [his career], thank God,” Martinez added. The sentiment was personal, not ceremonial — a goalkeeper who arrived as Messi’s international career teetered on the edge of heartbreak, then helped rewrite its ending.
Martinez’s focus now sits squarely on Tuesday’s farewell. “On Tuesday, I want to see him enjoying himself and smiling,” he stated. The plan is simple, affectionate, and entirely in character for a squad that has already fired up the barbecue.
“We’ll try to make sure he enjoys it as much as possible. Fill him with cuddles, kisses and for him to be happy,” Martinez said. No other players’ quotes about the farewell appear in the source, leaving Martinez as the sole voice describing the squad’s emotional send-off.
For a goalkeeper who made the decisive save in the 2022 World Cup final, this is the closing chapter of a story he helped author. His words carry the quiet satisfaction of a job completed — and the anticipation of one last embrace.
THE TROPHY PARTNERSHIP
Emiliano Martinez became Argentina’s starting goalkeeper under Lionel Scaloni in the summer of 2021, exactly one month before the 2021 Copa América, per www.si.com. The rest is history.
With Martinez in goal, Messi finally put behind years of international heartbreak. Argentina won two Copa América titles and the 2022 World Cup with him between the posts.
Martinez was essential as Argentina won four penalty shootouts on the road to lifting those three titles. His point-blank save against Randal Kolo Muani in the 2022 World Cup final is now one of the most memorable saves in soccer history.
Exact dates of the Copa América wins beyond the 2021 reference are not in the source, but the trophy haul itself is confirmed: two continental crowns and the biggest prize of all.
“I tried to help him as much as possible, he knows it, we always speak about that,” Martinez said. “It was one of the greatest honors of my career, trying to help him achieve what he wanted so badly.”
“He’s the greatest player of all time, and I feel part of [his career], thank God.”
That save against Kolo Muani in the final was the fulcrum. Without it, the shootout that followed — and the World Cup that came with it — may never have happened. Martinez did not just witness Messi’s crowning moment; he forced it into existence.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Messi will play his final match for Argentina on Tuesday against Benin at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, per www.si.com. The barbecue video Martinez posted Sunday night was the first step of the send-off, and the squad's asado at base camp is set to follow.
After Tuesday, the focus shifts to who carries Argentina forward. Martinez is "poised to become one of Argentina's main leaders of the post-Messi era," according to the source.
But that future is not entirely settled. Only a few months ago, the 34-year-old's own international career was — the source text cuts off mid-sentence, leaving the outcome of any retirement consideration not fully detailed. Whether Martinez weighed stepping away, and what he decided, has not been confirmed.
What is clear is the immediate calendar. Messi arrives at camp Sunday night, the barbecue is prepared, and Tuesday's match against Benin at Estadio Monumental closes the greatest international career of his generation. Martinez wants one specific image from it.
"On Tuesday, I want to see him enjoying himself and smiling," he said.
The cuddles, the kisses, the asado — all of it is built around that final night. After the final whistle, Argentina's post-Messi era begins, and Martinez, the man who saved the Kolo Muani shot, will be expected to anchor it.
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