Argentina Football Association (AFA) president, Claudio Tapia has urged Lionel Messi to continue playing for the national team not because the team needs him because the organisation benefits financially from his appearances.
There was some speculation that Messi might retire after the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.
Lionel Messi has not addressed his future with Argentina after they got knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia in the round of 16. But he said before the tournament began that his team would need to win it “now or never.” The President of AFA Claudio Tapia said,
“Emotionally, this blow must have been very hard on him, but Argentina needs him. From a financial standpoint, Messi is very important to the AFA. I think Messi will continue. He loves the Argentina national team a lot. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
Tapia said the Argentina captain needs to be given some time to decide if he’ll return to the Albiceleste.
“We have a good relationship. He is on holiday and enjoying his family. We did not speak at all about the World Cup. We have to leave him alone, let him [collect his thoughts], begin the season in Spain and see what happens next year.”
Messi’s mother, Celia Cuccittini, said before the World Cup that her son suffered from the criticism over his performances with Argentina.
“We saw him like many others did. With this degree of responsibility that we also generated a little bit. We thought he was a superhero, but he is a human being. He is the best player in the world but he is a human being. We loaded him with responsibilities that ended up backfiring.”
If Messi returns to the national team, he will do so with a new coach. After the World Cup, Jorge Sampaoli was sacked straight away by AFA.