(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)
Lionel Messi has said that he is to retire from international soccer after Argentina were beaten 4-2 by Chile in a penalty shootout in the Copa America final on Sunday, the fourth final the Barcelona striker has lost with the national side. Messi, a five times World Player of the Year, missed Argentina''s opening penalty in the shootout after the game ended 0-0 and he was shown in tears while sitting in the team dugout. "It''s tough, it''s not the time for analysis. In the dressing room I thought that this is the end for me with the national team, it''s not for me. "That''s the way I feel right now, it''s a huge sadness once again and I missed the penalty that was so important. "I tried so hard to be champion with Argentina. But it didn''t happen. I couldn''t do it." The decision by the 29-year-old, who surpassed Gabriel Batistuta as his country''s highest goalscorer last week, came as a shock to his team mates, who said they hoped his decision was not irrevocable. Leo Messi just announced his retirement from the Argentine National football team https://t.co/fZKyi5mnFd - Leo Messi (MessiNetwork) June 27, 2016 Sergio Aguero, Messi''s best friend on the team, said he had never seen the mood in the dressing room so low while goalkeeper Sergio Romero suggested he might rethink his decision. "I think Leo spoke in the heat of the moment because we missed that great chance," said Romero. Messi, widely held to be the greatest player of his generation, has won every trophy possible at club level with Barcelona, though his only titles with Argentina were the Under-20 World Cup and the 2008 Olympics. There will be haters. Just be sure to enjoy Messi while you can. pic.twitter.com/pxNSdZjPOr - Barcelona Worldwide (BarcaWorldwide) June 27, 2016 He has played in three Copa America finals in 2007, 2015 and 2016 and the 2014 World Cup final, and was on the losing side every time. Argentina failed to score in all four matches. Messi''s penalty miss is even better with titanic music pic.twitter.com/aGVjwVowGU - Football Fix (FBFix) June 27, 2016 Watch: Top goals by the soccer legend
Also see: The best pictures of the Argentina captain Messi vs Maradona debate Despite a glittering career that has seen him be named FIFA World Player of the Year on no fewer than five occasions, Messi has often faced baffling criticism from Argentina fans. Although universally regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, he has regularly been criticised for his failure to land a major title in the colours of Argentina. Messi''s failure to match the achievements in the Argentina jersey of Diego Maradona, who single-handedly carried the team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, has often been held against him. Maradona himself has often taken potshots at Messi, criticizing him on the eve of the tournament for a perceived "lack of personality." "He''s a really good person, but he has no personality, Maradona said in Paris shortly before the start of Euro 2016. "He lacks the character to be a leader." Messi''s bombshell decision comes after a gruelling season which was disrupted by injury last year. He recovered to help Barcelona win the Spanish title once more and was relishing the prospect of leading Argentina to glory in the Copa America Centenario. His commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the tournament, where he suffered a back injury. He then returned to Spain to give evidence at his trial for tax fraud before jetting off to the United States to join up with his Argentina team-mates. Although he was injured for his team''s opening group game against Chile, he came on as a substitute in a 5-0 hammering of Panama to score a hat-trick in 19 minutes. He then equalled Argentina''s international goalscoring record of 54, held by Gabriel Batistuta, in the quarter-finals before setting a new mark with his 55th international goal in the semi-final win over the United States.
Profile of Lionel Messi Early Career Joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and shone in the youth ranks before then-coach Frank Rijkaard gave him his senior debut at the age of 16 in a friendly against Porto in 2003. Made his La Liga debut in October 2004 and scored his first La Liga goal the following May in a match against Albacete at the Nou Camp. Scored six goals in 17 appearances in 2005-06 as Barca won La Liga for the second year in a row but did not feature in their 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League final. Messi played a key role as Barca claimed six trophies in the calendar year of 2009 including the Champions League, La Liga, the King''s Cup and the Club World Cup. Won the first of four consecutive World Player of the Year awards. Won La Liga again in 2010 and retained the World Player award, beating shortlisted Spanish World Cup winners and Barca team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Inspired Barcelona to a 3-1 win against Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final, scoring one goal and creating another. Helped Barca to a third consecutive La Liga title in 2010-11 and was on the scoresheet as they beat Santos 4-0 to win the Club World Cup. While Barcelona failed to retain either La Liga or the Champions League, Messi completed 2012 with an extraordinary total of 91 goals in all competitions, a record for a calendar year. He smashed the La Liga scoring record for one season in 2011-12 with 50 goals. Equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals set by former Real Madrid and Schalke 04 forward Raul when he struck twice against Ajax Amsterdam at the end of 2014. Has since been overtaken by current Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Turned in a series of scintillating performances in 2014-15 as Barca romped to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and King''s Cup titles. Won his eighth La Liga title and fourth Spanish Cup with Barcelona in 2015-16 Argentina Led Argentina to the title at the 2005 World Youth Championship, scoring two penalties in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final. Made his debut for the senior side in a friendly against Hungary in August 2005 but was sent off less than a minute after coming on as a substitute for elbowing an opponent who had pulled his shirt. Played only a bit-part role at the 2006 World Cup. Argentina were knocked out in the quarter-finals by hosts Germany after a penalty shootout. Led Argentina to the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Part of the Argentina side coached by Diego Maradona at the 2010 World Cup that was beaten 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals. Messi failed to score and struggled to find his best form at the tournament in South Africa. After a season disrupted by injury, captained Argentina to the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they lost 1-0 to Germany. Messi, who scored four goals at the finals, won the Golden Ball award for the tournament''s best player. Played his second Copa America final for Argentina in Chile in 2015, losing the final on penalties to the host nation. Scored a hat trick in 18 minutes after coming off the bench in Argentina''s 5-0 win over Panama in the 2016 Centenary Copa America in Chicago. Set a record of 55 goals for Argentina when he scored in the 4-0 win over the United States in the semi-finals. Was on the losing side again after a penalty shootout defeat by Chile in the centenary final and said he was retiring from internationals. Watch | Football''s greatest player in the modern era, Lionel Messi celebrates his 29th birthday todayhttps://t.co/Izwc7c68lW - Livemint (livemint) June 24, 2016
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.