Drone show at Messi’s farewell sparks boos at the Monumental

Lionel Messi’s farewell to the national team on Tuesday at the Monumental was not greeted only with joy and emotion. The crowd also roared its disapproval when the drone show began with an advertising message. The boos became one of the defining sounds of an evening meant to celebrate the player, with the uproar concentrating criticism on the commercial element of the tribute.

Spectators, players and Messi had all turned their eyes to the sky to watch the illuminated formations. But the first choreographies formed the logo of Sancor Seguros, an Argentine banking brand. Opening the display with the company’s mark shifted attention from the celebration to its sponsored dimension, drawing whistles from the stands.

The reaction was directed at Chiqui Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, who was already facing heavy criticism. Juanma Tucci, a journalist with La Nacion, summed up his anger on X: “A farewell as mediocre as this AFA.” Another criticism of the evening listed the opponent, the music, ticket sales, the team’s performance and, finally, the sponsored light show. It accused Tapia and those around him of spoiling Messi’s farewell and failing to rise to the occasion for one night.

That tone contrasted with the stature given to Messi in tributes. The Argentine press was described as shaken by his farewell, with the phrase “At the gates of eternity” and the words “the best player of all time.” Another comment linked the choice of an opponent it deemed unknown and unworthy of Messi’s status with the repeated insults aimed at Claudio Tapia, which it said rang out across the stadium throughout the evening.

A further comment questioned Messi’s thank-you speech, suggesting—but not asserting—that he might have avoided mentioning Tapia to steer clear of an awkward moment. It treated the crowd’s rejection of the sponsored logo as evidence of the gulf between Messi and the officials expected to protect and carry forward his legacy at the AFA. Those remarks are interpretations, but they capture a central tension of the evening: the way Messi was celebrated became a source of dispute in its own right.