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Lionel Messi retirement: Argentina star on verge of quitting after World Cup exit
LIONEL MESSI could QUIT international football after Argentina’s World Cup exit today.
World Cup: France and Argentina walk onto the pitch
Messi has already once retired from internaiotnal football before being coaxed back into the Argentina set-up.
But the Barcelona superstar’s international career may now be up.
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Argentina were dumped out of the World Cup after a thrilling 4-3 defeat to France in the last-16 today.
Messi did not score any Argentina’s goals and controversially started up front on his own in Kazan.
Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Sergio Aguero all started the match on the bench.
Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli has championed Messi throughout the tournament.
But the consensus now is that Messi has played his last World Cup.
The 31-year-old could even retire from international football now Argentina’s World Cup exit has been confirmed.
The next Copa America is in 2019 but Messi may well decide not to play it.
He quit two years ago after the 2016 Copa America final defeat to Chile, saying: "[Retiring] was a decision I made in the heat of the moment. "But I was embarrassed to say that I wanted to come back.
"[The coach at the time, Edgardo] Bauza and my teammates made everything easy for me to return to.
"At 30 years old, I now enjoy it in a different way and much more than I did before, I take advantage of every moment, both on and off the pitch.
"I am experiencing this period with the national team in a different way, I am more relaxed. When they criticise me, I experience it differently."
He was brought back into the fold after a public clamouring for his return.
But the knives will be out in Argentina now and Messi is unlikely to respond to the public backlash well.