Argentina’s football great Diego Maradona has urged his countrymen to leave Lionel Messi alone in the wake of his decision to retire from international football.
Argentina’s football great Diego Maradona has urged his countrymen to leave Lionel Messi alone in the wake of his decision to retire from international football following their loss to Chile in the Copa America final.
“Let’s let Messi have his holidays,” Maradona said in an interview with La Red radio.
“From now on we have to build a unified idea, and if Messi says, ‘I don’t want more,’ we will have to present another team,” he added.
Messi called it quits on the international scene after Argentina lost a third final in three years, going down to Chile 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out for the Copa America Centenario last Sunday.
It was the fourth time Messi has suffered a defeat the final of a major tournament, adding to the heartbreak of the 2007 and 2015 editions of the Copa, as well as the 2014 World Cup decider against Germany.