Messi announces about quitting Argentina national team

The games for the Argentine national football squad have ended for me, team captain Lionel Messi stated.

After losing to Chile in the final of the Copa América which the US hosted, the FC Barcelona (Spain) forward announced about quitting the Argentine national squad.

“This will be useful for everyone, and many [people] want this,” Olé national daily sports newspaper of Argentina quoted the 29-year-old player as saying. “They are not satisfied with [just] participation in the final; we, too. Sadly, we did not win again; I think that’s enough.”

Chile on Sunday defended their Copa América champions’ title in this year’s event. Just as in the previous year, they defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout of this year’s Copa América final. No goals were scored in the regular and extra time of the match. Lionel Messi and Lucas Biglia could not convert their penalty shots, and Chile won 4-2 in the shootout. The Argentines lost their third final in a row, including the World Cup.

Lionel Messi made his debut for Argentina in 2005, and he has 113 caps in the national team. In addition, he recently became his country’s leading scorer with 55, goals. The previous record belonged to Argentina football legend Gabriel Batistuta, who had a 54-goal tally.