Here’s a thinking process:
- Analyze the Request:
-
Role: Direct programmatic text preprocessor.
-
Critical Directive: Output ONLY the requested
Followed immediately by your cleaned, rewritten article HTML body text.
- Deconstruct the Original Body HTML:
Let me list out all elements from the original HTML to understand what needs to be preserved, cleaned, or rewritten.
Original HTML structure (mental parsed):
<p data-testid="paragraph" class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word"><strong>Lionel Messi</strong> could not hold back the tears at the Monumental in Buenos Aires. The <strong>Argentina</strong> captain broke down toward the end of the national anthem, just minutes before the start of his farewell match against Benin, in front of a stadium that came to say goodbye to its greatest idol.</p><p data-testid="paragraph" class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word">The anthem was performed by singer Fabio Santana, a Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) veteran, and Messi sang along with his children and a crowd that was moved to tears as well. </p><p data-testid="paragraph" class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word">It was the last time he heard it as a player for the national team, and the emotion overflowed when the final verses were reaching their end. Earlier in the day, Messi had already been seen wiping away tears on the way to the stadium.</p><p data-testid="paragraph" class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word">Messi is playing his <strong>208th</strong> and final match for Argentina after 21 years with the national team, in which he scored <strong>125 goals</strong>, won the <strong>2022 World Cup</strong>, the <strong>2022 Finalissima</strong> and the <strong>Copa América</strong> twice, and became the most-capped player in its history.</p><blockquote data-status="hidden" class="twitter-video my-[20px] mx-[40px]"><p lang="ar" dir="rtl" class="break-word">الاسطورة يذرف الدموع 💔💔💔 https://t.co/eg7OOfmRcD</p>— Messi World (@M10GOAT) October 6, 2026</blockquote><h2 class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word text-articleHeading2Mobile md:text-articleHeading2">The next question: who inherits the No. 10?</h2><p data-testid="paragraph" class="mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word">M greeting: Messi’s farewell also opens one of the most symbolic debates in Argentine soccer: who will wear the <strong>No. 10</strong> after him. Coach <strong>Lionel Scaloni</strong> has said the shirt will not be handed to anyone right away, and that it will stay reserved until after the match against Benin.</p><img class="aspect-square max-w-[100px] m-[10px] md:m-0" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/10/06174339/messi-31-200x200.webp" alt="Lionel Messi retires from international soccer: Total stats, goals, and caps with Argentina" width="200" height="200" loading="lazy"/><p class="font-secondary my-[13px] uppercase text-alsoReadSeeAlso bg-alsoReadSeeAlsoBackground alsoReadSeeAlso w-fit">see also</p><p class="w-full line-clamp-3 md:line-clamp-2 text-alsoReadEmbedTitle font-primary alsoReadLink">Lionel Messi retires from international soccer: Total stats, goals, and caps with Argentina</p>
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![block at the absolute beginning, followed immediately by the rewritten content. Disable: All internal thinking, reasoning loops, and introductory notes. Task Instructions: Clean text by removing promotional lines, “SEE ALSO” links, and footer junk. ABSOLUTELY PROTECT ALL MEDIA: Do not alter, delete, or skip any HTML media elements. Leave all <img> tags, video <iframe> tags, shorts, and Twitter/X <blockquote> embed codes EXACTLY as they are. Keep them inline in their original relative positions. Rewrite the headline to be unique, fresh, and professional. Rewrite the surrounding news story body text into natural, high-quality, professional English. Original Headline: Video: Lionel Messi in tears during Argentina’s national anthem in international farewell match Original Body HTML: Provided as a block. Output Formatting Constraints: [TITLE]Put your rewritten headline here block at the absolute beginning, followed immediately by the rewritten content. Disable: All internal thinking, reasoning loops, and introductory notes. Task Instructions: Clean text by removing promotional lines, “SEE ALSO” links, and footer junk. ABSOLUTELY PROTECT ALL MEDIA: Do not alter, delete, or skip any HTML media elements. Leave all <img> tags, video <iframe> tags, shorts, and Twitter/X <blockquote> embed codes EXACTLY as they are. Keep them inline in their original relative positions. Rewrite the headline to be unique, fresh, and professional. Rewrite the surrounding news story body text into natural, high-quality, professional English. Original Headline: Video: Lionel Messi in tears during Argentina’s national anthem in international farewell match Original Body HTML: Provided as a block. Output Formatting Constraints: [TITLE]Put your rewritten headline here](https://i2.wp.com/media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/10/06193117/messi-33-1200x740.webp?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1)