Diego Maradona Persuades Lionel Messi not to Retire from Argentina

Diego Maradona has pleaded with Lionel Messi not to go through with his potential retirement from international football, following Argentina's Copa America Centenario final loss to Chile. After playing in and losing his fourth consecutive final for La Albiceleste, an emotional Messi said: 'that's it. It's over for me with the national team'.

Former Argentina star and world footballer of the year, Diego Maradona, regarded as one of the all-time footballing greats, has called on Messi, whom he coached during his time as national team boss between 2008 and 2010, to play on at the 2018 World Cup.
 

The post-match revelations made waves across the world, but Maradona has decided to speak out publicly in order to try and persuade the Barcelona man to think carefully about his future.

'Messi has to stay in the national team. He will go to Russia in form to be world champion,' Maradona told Argentine daily La Nacion.

'He has to rely more on boys who can help take the team forward and less on those who say they have to go.

'Those who are saying he should quit are doing it so that we won't see what a disaster Argentine football has become.'

Messi's plan to retire comes as the Argentine Football Association (AFA) implodes.

With the AFA's presidential election marred by controversy and uncertainty, Maradona added: 'I am very sorry and very angry with what is happening to Argentine football.

'We hit bottom, we reached the bottom.'