Former Argentina captain Diego Maradona on Monday advised fellow countrymen Lionel Messi to retire from the Argentina national team.
Messi decided against playing for Argentina for the two friendly games earlier after a devastating end to his Russia 2018 world cup. The little Argentine has had little success with the national team and has lost a total of 4 international finals.
“What would I tell Messi? To not come back any more. To retire,” Maradona was quoted as saying by Goal. The 1986 world cup winner added: “If the under-15s lose a match, Messi is to blame. If anything goes wrong with the football federations, Messi is to blame.”
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Maradona said that in such circumstances when Messi is blamed for everything and that there is zero support from the federation, the 31-year-old should retire from the national team and concentrate on club football.
“I would like Messi to tell Argentina that he does not want it anymore. It’s okay to place hopes on someone, but to place all hopes on one person is not wise too,” Maradona said.