Breaking: Lionel Messi retires from international football
Jun 27, 2016 at 11:05 AM
In a shocking interview after Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa America final, Lionel Messi says he’s done with international football and confirmed he is retiring from international football.
Following Argentina’s loss, Lionel Messi was visibly devastated. Not long after the tournament’s closing ceremonies, Messi gave an interview with TyC Sports in Argentina where he announced that he would no longer play for the national team.
“For me the national team is over. I’ve done all I can, it hurts not to be a champion,” Messi said.
The 29-year-old was making his 112th appearance for Argentina since making his debut in 2005. After the match finished 0-0 in 120 minutes, Chile won 4-2 on penalties for their second consecutive Copa title.
Messi’s penalty miss on Sunday was Argentina’s first attempt in the shootout, ballooned over the bar after Sergio Romero had denied Chile’s Arturo Vidal. Lucas Biglia also missed from 12 yards, with Chilean substitute Francisco Silva scoring the decisive spot-kick.
Messi has not won a major international honour apart from a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This comes only three days after Messi wrote about his frustration with the Argentine FA. “Once again waiting on a plane to leave for our destination,” Messi wrote on his Instagram. “What a disaster the AFA are. My god!” When asked about the post the next day, Messi said he would speak to AFA about his concerns after Copa America ended.
But through some combination of his frustrations with losing in another final and dealing with AFA, the world’s greatest player has decided that enough is enough. It’s possible that this decision was made in the heat of the moment, after an emotional defeat, and his fans will be hoping he reconsiders his decision.
The World Cup is just two years away, and might be Messi’s final chance to win the tournament while still in the prime of his career.
more to follow..