A video showing a massive crowd gathered on roads and elevated highways in Argentina is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it shows people celebrating ahead of football star Lionel Messi’s farewell match for the Argentine national team.
In the viral clip, thousands of people can be seen filling the streets and overpasses, with social media users claiming that the entire country had gathered to bid farewell to Messi.
A Facebook user posted the viral post with the following caption:
Crazy scenes in Argentina ahead of Lionel Messi’s farewell. The entire country is out to celebrate Messi today. 🤯🐐🇦🇷
You can check the post here.
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile investigated the viral post and found the claims to be false.
To verify the video, the NewsMobile team conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the viral footage.
The search led us to a video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of ESPN FC on December 20, 2022, featuring the same visuals.
The video showed millions of people gathering on the streets of Argentina to celebrate the national football team’s victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
This confirms that the footage had been available online for nearly four years before being circulated as visuals from Messi’s farewell celebrations in October 2026.
Further searches revealed that several football-related Instagram accounts had also shared the same video on December 20, 2022, linking it to Argentina’s World Cup victory celebrations.
We also found reports published by CBS News and Sports Illustrated in December 2022, documenting the massive celebrations that followed Argentina’s World Cup triumph.
Argentina defeated France in the FIFA World Cup final on December 18, 2022, securing its third World Cup title. Following the victory, an estimated four million supporters gathered across Buenos Aires on December 20 to welcome the national team home. The crowds filled major roads, highways and elevated overpasses, making it difficult for the players’ parade bus to continue along its planned route. Due to the overwhelming turnout, the players were eventually evacuated by helicopter, and the celebrations continued with an aerial procession.
Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral post, claiming to show people celebrating ahead of football star Lionel Messi’s farewell match for the Argentine national team, is false.
