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Some photographs become more powerful with time.
On June 21, 2023, in Orléans, the Argentine men’s volleyball team celebrated a remarkable Volleyball Nations League victory over France.
The result was already significant: Argentina had come from behind to defeat the reigning Olympic champions 3–1, with the sets finishing 22:25, 26:24, 25:21 and 25:20.
Agustín Loser and Luciano Palonsky led Argentina with 16 points apiece.
But the most memorable image of the evening came after the final whistle.
Instead of simply celebrating their victory, the Argentine players posed for a photograph holding up Argentina football shirts bearing the name and iconic number 10 of Lionel Messi, complete with the three stars representing the country’s World Cup triumphs in 1978, 1986 and, just six months earlier, 2022.
It was a gesture born from one of the most emotional sporting moments Argentina had experienced in decades.
In December 2022, Messi had finally lifted the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, leading Argentina to victory over France in an unforgettable final.
Six months later, Argentina’s volleyball players found themselves facing those same French colours on French soil — and, after turning a 0–1 deficit into a 3–1 victory, they chose to celebrate with Messi’s number 10.
At the time, it was a playful and affectionate tribute to the man who had just completed Argentina’s football redemption story.
Today, however, the photograph carries an entirely different weight.
On August 31, 2026, Lionel Messi officially announced his retirement from the Argentina national team, closing a chapter that had lasted more than two decades.
At 39, he leaves the Albiceleste as the country’s record appearance-maker and all-time leading scorer, with 207 international appearances and 125 goals.
His career with Argentina included the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 World Cup, another Copa América in 2024 and, ultimately, a second World Cup final appearance in 2026.
The ending was bittersweet.
Messi’s final appearance for Argentina came in the 2026 World Cup final against Spain, a 1–0 defeat after extra time. Yet the disappointment of that final cannot erase what came before it: the long journey from the painful defeats of 2014 and 2015–16 to finally becoming a world champion and, eventually, the undisputed symbol of an entire generation of Argentine football.
And that is why the old volleyball photograph has suddenly come back to life.
The Argentine volleyball community has now used the image once again to say goodbye — or, perhaps more appropriately, thank you.
“Eternal gratitude to the captain of all — Leo Messi,” the message begins, looking back at that night in Orléans.
Three years ago, the volleyball players had celebrated a victory over France by borrowing the shirt of their country’s most famous athlete.
They were celebrating a footballer who, only months earlier, had brought the World Cup back to Argentina.
Now the same photograph has become something much bigger: a small piece of Argentine sporting history.
Because Messi was never only a football player in Argentina.
His number 10 became a symbol that could cross the boundaries between sports, generations and national teams.
Volleyball players could wear it.
Basketball players could celebrate with it.
Fans could carry it into stadiums around the world.
And perhaps that is what makes this particular photograph so beautiful.
On June 21, 2023, Argentina’s volleyball players were saying thank you to a football captain who had just conquered the world.
On September 1, 2026, looking back at that same image, Argentine volleyball is saying thank you once again — this time to a captain who has finally closed the door on his international career.
Three years later, the shirts are still there.
So is the number 10.
And so, apparently, is the gratitude.
