AS Roma Blocks Dybala and Molina From Messi's Farewell

Two of Lionel Messi's closest teammates from Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph will not be at the Estadio Monumental on October 6. AS Roma has officially refused Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina permission to travel to Buenos Aires for Messi's farewell against Benin.

Roma says no: the duo stays in Italy

AS Roma has confirmed that Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not travel to Argentina for Lionel Messi's international farewell, ending days of speculation about whether the pair would be granted permission to make the emotional trip to Buenos Aires. The decision came in an official club statement released via Roma's website, three days after reports of the refusal first emerged.

The Serie A club's announcement leaves two members of Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning squad out of the celebration planned for October 6 at the Estadio Monumental, when Messi plays his final match for the national team against Benin. Both players had been personally invited to be part of the send-off, but Roma decided to keep them in Italy during the international break.

Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano wrote on X that Roma had no intention of approving the long trip, with both players set to return to team training next week instead of boarding flights to South America.

What Roma's statement actually said

The club's statement was direct: "AS Roma announces that Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina will not attend the event being held in Argentina for the match between Argentina and Benin on 6 October." The club then acknowledged the weight of the occasion, saying it recognized the importance of the appointment for the two players, "who are linked to Lionel Messi and played a key role in his victory at the 2022 World Cup."

On the reasoning, Roma was equally clear: "The club's choice was based on sporting and logistical reasons, linked to the length of the intercontinental trip and the proximity of official commitments." The Giallorossi wanted no ambiguity about their stance toward the honoree, closing with a respectful tribute: "AS Roma expresses its utmost respect for Lionel Messi and his extraordinary career, wishing him and the Argentine Federation a special evening."

The tone of the statement matters. Roma went out of its way to frame the refusal as a practical decision rather than a personal one, acknowledging the bond between the players and Messi and stressing that the club holds the Argentina captain in the highest regard.

Como and Real Madrid: the fixtures behind the call

The schedule helps explain Roma's position. Gian Piero Gasperini's side return to Serie A action with a visit to Como on October 11, just five days after the tribute in Buenos Aires, and then host Real Madrid on October 14 in the Champions League. The club had been reluctant for days to have the two Argentines take two intercontinental flights in such a short span, according to reports from Corriere dello Sport.

Roma were particularly wary of the fatigue a round trip to Buenos Aires could cause just days before a league fixture, and the prospect of losing Dybala and Molina to three days of travel ahead of a defining week of the season tipped the balance. The pair will instead remain at the Trigoria training base during the international window.

It is the kind of club-versus-country tension that flares up every international break, but the timing made this one sting. This was not an ordinary qualifier or a friendly with nothing at stake. It was a once-in-a-career farewell, and Roma's refusal effectively ruled two World Cup winners out of a party planned in their honor.

Neither was going to play anyway

It is worth noting that neither Dybala nor Molina was set to take the field against Benin. Dybala was left out of Lionel Scaloni's squad for this international window, while Molina is midway through a seven-match international ban imposed after the incidents that followed the 2026 World Cup final against Spain.

Their presence in Buenos Aires would have been purely symbolic: an emotional reunion with the captain they lifted the 2022 World Cup alongside in Qatar. The Argentine Football Association invited members of that victorious squad to the celebration so that Messi's former teammates and their families could be part of the night, regardless of whether they were selected for the match itself.

That is why the club's decision, while administratively defensible, feels harsher than a routine non-release. Roma did not block two players from a football match. It blocked two close friends from attending a farewell they were invited to as guests of honor.

Dybala, Molina and Messi: a bond forged in Qatar

Dybala and Molina occupy very different places in Messi's Argentina story, but both belong to its most famous chapter. Dybala, who has repeatedly called Messi his idol, famously came on in the 2022 World Cup final and converted a penalty in the shootout victory over France. talkSPORT noted that Dybala has shared the pitch with Messi on 18 occasions at international level.

Molina, the right-back whose lung-busting runs became a trademark of the 2022 campaign, has played alongside Messi in 53 appearances for the national team, per the same report. He was a fixture of the side that won in Qatar and then of the squad that reached the 2026 final against Spain.

For both, the farewell was a chance to close the circle with the captain who defined their international careers. Instead, they will watch from Italy while the celebration goes ahead without them, a reminder that in modern football the club calendar rarely pauses for sentiment, no matter how large the occasion.

What it means for the October 6 farewell

The show goes on at the Monumental regardless. Messi landed in Argentina on Friday and is preparing for his final cap, with the AFA planning a special celebration fit for its captain, including a shirt designed for the occasion. Around 80,000 tickets sold out in just 90 minutes, and the farewell remains one of the most anticipated friendlies of the year.

Other members of the 2022 squad are expected to attend the celebration, and Roma's decision does not change who will be on the pitch for Scaloni's side. Youngster Matias Soule, who was also called up for the October friendlies, was allowed to travel to the Argentina camp, underlining that Roma's block applied specifically to the two non-squad players rather than to international duty in general.

For Dybala and Molina, the consolation is that the tribute will not be a one-night event. Argentina's post-Messi era begins the moment the final whistle blows against Benin, and both players still have a future with the national team. But on the night the number 10 says goodbye, two of the men who helped him become a world champion will be missing from the family photo.

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