Sources from Lionel Messi’s family have told Goal.com that the former Argentina captain will not return for his country’s September World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela.
The Argentine Football Association has moved from one calamity to the next over recent months — they’re currently headed by an emergency “normalization committee” after president Luis Segura was charged with fraud, and they were without a manager until the recent appointment of Edgardo Bauza. Now, they'll have to move ahead in WCQ without their biggest star.
After overtures from the governing body, the Argentinian populace and the world of football for Messi to reconsider his international retirement, Messi’s family can confirm that: “Right now he is not part of the national team.”
Goal reported that “he will not come back for the time being…nobody can confirm that Messi will never again pull on the international shirt, [but] the team will at least have to plan for that doubleheader without its former captain.”
Lionel Messi is back to playing with Barcelona. Photo: @Footy_Jokes | Twitter
Argentina currently sit in third place in CONMEBOL qualifying. They play Uruguay, who are currently first, on September 1st in Mendoza, Argentina. That match is followed by a trip to Merida, Venezuela to play La Vinotinto, who are at the bottom of the South American table.
The next fixture of international qualifiers isn’t until October 2016. The 29-year-old has amassed 113 caps and 55 goals for La Albiceleste, but the weight of four major runners-up finishes with the national team dictated Messi’s early retirement.
(H/T: Goal.com)
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