The end of an era or the end of a business? Which national team loses more without Messi and Ronaldo

Messi's farewell puts the price of Argentina's tours under the microscope. For Portugal, the test is holding on to the global reach Ronaldo brought.

Argentina and Portugal are preparing for their first international window since Messi and Ronaldo retired. Ticket sales and TV audiences for those games will give a first measure of how many fans still follow the teams when the 10 and the 7 no longer take the field. That answer will shape what promoters offer for a tour, what broadcasters pay to show it and what brands put on the table to renew.

The sponsorships already signed

The AFA has a deal with Adidas through 2038. Puma has dressed Portugal's national teams since 2025 under a long-term contract. In both cases the sponsorship was signed with the federation. Using Messi or Ronaldo in a new individual campaign depends on the image rights that were agreed.

China and India, where the AFA built up more than ten sponsors per country, will be a test for renewals. Portugal had already planned to keep Ronaldo as a historic figure in its commercial strategy.

In Portugal, experts do not foresee an immediate collapse. Daniel Sá, director of IPAM Porto, told EFE that sponsors buy the rights of the national team and the federation, not the player, so he does not expect structural changes to current contracts. He does see risk in official merchandise sales, especially the No. 7 shirt, and in international demand, and warned it would be premature to talk about a significant revenue drop without data to prove it.

The social media reach at stake

Instagram followers as of November 5

	Player	National team
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal	679.8 million	22.7 million
Lionel Messi and Argentina	517.5 million	18.7 million

Why future tours could be worth less

In 2025, RBC, the promoter of an Argentina tour of India, transferred $9 million plus taxes, followed by another $5.5 million. The agreement signed with the AFA guaranteed at least 45 minutes of Messi. The games were never played. For the friendly Argentina did play in Angola that year, reportedly worth about $12 million, the central condition was also that Messi be called up and play.

Portugal had its own case in March 2026. Ronaldo was injured and missed the friendlies against Mexico and the United States. Even so, the Estadio Azteca was full with more than 80,000 fans for its reopening, although resale ticket prices dropped as soon as his absence was confirmed.

Same stadium, same price, very different demand

Argentina played Burkina Faso and Benin at the Monumental three days apart. A general-admission adult ticket cost 90,000 Argentine pesos for both games. Tickets for Messi's farewell against Benin sold out in under two hours.

Against Burkina Faso, without Messi on the field, Argentina won 7-0. The farewell against Benin, on Telefe, peaked at 36 rating points. It was a special night, and it showed how much interest a friendly could draw around the captain.

That interest matters when a tour's broadcast rights are negotiated. Official tournaments work differently: FIFA sells the World Cup rights and UEFA centralizes those for the Nations League and European qualifiers.

Who loses more?

Messi's exit carries the biggest financial risk per game, because Argentina's tours were negotiated around his presence and no other player in the squad carries that weight in the fees today. Portugal, for its part, loses the player with the larger audience of the two, with the impact mainly on merchandise sales and international demand.

In short, Argentina stands to lose revenue from tours and friendlies, while Portugal's exposure is on the marketing side and in markets where Ronaldo generated his own demand. Knowing who loses more money overall will take the new friendly fees, their gate receipts and the next brand renewals.

Sources: Infobae (EFE): Portugal pierde su mayor activo comercial · Mundo Albiceleste: la gira de India · Crónica: el amistoso en Angola · Infobae: entradas para la despedida de Messi · Yahoo: el rating de la despedida · El Imparcial: México vs. Portugal sin Cristiano

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