Doctor Messi! Argentina's biggest university to award Leo its highest honorary title
Lionel Messi will receive the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Buenos Aires, the highest honorary distinction of the largest and most prestigious university in Argentina.
Details: The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 6, just hours before Messi plays his farewell match for the national team against Benin at the Monumental.
The decision was made by the Superior Council of the University of Buenos Aires, founded back in 1821 and considered the most important academic institution in the country. The Doctor Honoris Causa title is awarded to figures whose contribution to society and culture goes far beyond their profession, and Messi has become one of the very few athletes in history to receive such an honor. The timing is deeply symbolic: on that very day, the captain of the Albiceleste will say goodbye to the national team in a friendly against Benin at the Monumental, a match for which Argentina has been preparing an unprecedented farewell show. The number 10 shirt has already been frozen until that game, and after it no one will wear it for the team again, at least for the foreseeable future.
It's worth noting that the academic recognition is just one part of a whole wave of tributes flooding over Messi these days. Last weekend, every match in Argentina was paused for a minute when the clock hit the 10th minute, and the AFA is preparing a special ceremony at the Monumental. Messi is leaving international football after 21 years, a World Cup triumph in 2022, two Copa America titles and a final run to the 2026 World Cup final, where Argentina fell to Spain in extra time. Now he will also leave as a Doctor Honoris Causa of the country's main university.
Reminder: Sacred number! Argentina freeze the No10 shirt until Messi's farewell
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
