"Everyone will be crying": ESPN FC previews Messi's Argentina farewell against Benin

The Futbol Americas crew asks whether the last game can be a celebration, and the comments are already full of thank-yous from far beyond Argentina.

Channel: ESPN UK Story of October 7, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 167,766 views a day, 19 times a normal first day on this channel (8,648).

‘EVERYONE WILL BE CRYING!’ 😢 Will Messi’s last game be a CELEBRATION of his legacy? 🎉 🇦🇷 | ESPN FC

Messi's goodbye travels far. A preview of his last international game, Argentina against Benin, passed 148,000 views in its first 18 hours on ESPN UK. A full-length video there usually ends its first day under 9,000.

The video comes from the Futbol Americas crew, ESPN FC's show for the game in the Americas. They take on the question in its title: will the farewell feel like a party for a career, or like a wake? The title's own answer is that everyone will be crying, and the comment section seems to agree. In 18 hours it gathered more than three times the comments of a usual full first day here.

What the comments talk about is distance. Viewers write that they are not Argentinian, or that they are watching from Pakistan, and still count Messi as part of their lives. Others marvel that he is stepping away at 39 while still the side's standout player. Many go back to December 2022 in Qatar, when he finally lifted the World Cup, a memory several describe as one they will keep for good.

The channel made a day of it. A clip from the ESPN Films documentary 'Messi: The Forgotten Tape' also drew far more than usual. In it, former Barcelona teammates and La Masia coaches recall trying to talk a teenage Messi, still uncapped, into playing for Spain instead of waiting for Argentina's call. That story ended the other way. On the same day, Wayne and Coleen Rooney's playful interview with each other, made to promote their series 'The Real Rooneys', had a strong start of its own, with chapters on who said "I love you" first and who controls the TV remote.

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The numbers

The numbers show a first day that ran far ahead of anything this channel usually posts.

the video's first day

usual first day here

8,648

this video

167,766

subscribers

1,600,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

1,055,676,695

views per day

622,497

typical day: 1,095,178

the video

views

148,672

likes

1,217

comments

275

days online

1

compared with similar channels (subscribers)

The Overlap

1,790,000

adidas Football

1,670,000

ESPN UK

1,600,000

FOX Soccer

1,580,000

Overlap Daily

1,520,000

KickFlix

1,420,000

As of October 7, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.

Where next?

Also in Football clubs, leagues and mediaVideo taking off 42x its usual first dayHarry Kane makes history against Czechia, and viewers reach back to 1966ITV Sport's Wembley highlights drew close to 700,000 views in seven hours, and the comment section was already more than five times busier than on a usual full…Channel: ITV Sport · Story of October 7, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 15x its usual first dayMessi hangs his own Argentina shirt one last time in adidas' 'GOATs last dance'A short of Lionel Messi preparing the jersey for his final national-team match drew thanks from India to Argentina, and a second tribute from Rosario followed …Channel: adidas · Story of October 7, 2026