Benin national team goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou sent a warning message to star Lionel Messi ahead of Argentina's upcoming match in the early hours of Wednesday morning, during the farewell game for the country's legend.
The "Monumental" stadium will host the friendly match between Argentina and Benin, which is Lionel Messi's last appearance wearing the Tango squad jersey after he decided to retire from international football.
Marcel Dandjinou said in comments to the Spanish newspaper "Marca": "For me, the match against Argentina is like any other match. This is something that happens only once in our careers because it is Messi's last game. It is a special match. We are here for Argentina and Messi, but we must not forget that we also represent our own country. We are here to defend Benin."
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He added: "This is football, 11 players against 11 players. We can win or draw, and they can win, but this is football. We are not here for tourism in Argentina, but to play and compete. It will be a great day in our lives."
He continued: "Messi is one of the kings of football. We grew up watching him play; he is one of our favorite players. The ability to play against him on the same pitch is unbelievable. I never imagined this could happen, but it will. For me, Messi is a true legend."
As for whether he would allow Messi to score if he were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes and had not scored throughout the match, he said: "No, I am a goalkeeper and my job is to make saves. Even if it is the last moment and there is a penalty, and if Messi takes it, I will try to save it. It is that simple; it is football."
He further stated: "We are here to celebrate Messi, but no one told us that we have to give him a goal. There is no need to give him anything either. If they want to score, they will have to do their utmost to do so."
Regarding whether there would be a draw to determine who gets to ask Messi for his shirt, he replied: "Everyone wants his shirt. It would be good if they made many shirts and gave one to each of us. If only one person could go and get his shirt, it would be difficult. We all want it!"
When asked if he considers Messi the best in history, he dodged the question saying: "We grew up watching Messi and Ronaldo play. Both taught us many things about football. They competed for a long time. For me, as I said, he is one of the best players in the game, one of the kings."
