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Maradona orders Messi to announce international retirement

Published

3 years ago

July 4, 2022

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Argentina legend, Diego Maradona, has advised Lionel Messi to make his retirement from international football permanent, as uncertainty continues over the star’s future with the Albiceleste.

Messi has not played for his country, since they crashed out of the 2018 World Cup in the second round.

The exit cost coach Jorge Sampaoli his job, while Messi has not been included in the two squads named by interim boss, Lionel Scaloni.

And while the Barcelona star has refused to confirm his international future, Maradona believes he should not return.

“What would I tell Messi? To not come back any more. To retire.

“The Under-15s lose and it is Messi’s fault, the fixture list in Argentina puts Racing against Boca and Messi is to blame. He is always to blame. Stop breaking my balls.

“I would tell him: ‘don’t go anymore, man’. Let’s see if they can handle that. Let’s see if they’re really big men.

“I would have liked to see him tell us all to f**k off. Because he is not to blame for us not being world champions. Fine, we all placed our hopes in him, but when you go to the racetrack you hope your horse wins and he comes in eighth.

“In Formula One Vettel has a great engine and Hamilton beats him. Right now the national team doesn’t do anything for me or for the people. We have lost that. The passion. It cannot play against Nicaragua or Malta, no, brother. We are throwing all the prestige we earned down the toilet,” the current Dorados coach told Clarin on Sunday.