Barcelona: Lionel Messi says he doesn’t plan to don Argentina’s albiceleste jersey ever again, but his Barcelona teammate and friend Luis Suarez doesn’t believe him.
“I think he’ll reconsider,” Suarez said at a preseason Barcelona news conference Friday.
Suarez blamed Messi’s decision on a bad “reaction” to Argentina’s penalty shoot-out loss to Chile at the Copa America final last month.
“The truth is that I cannot imagine Leo not playing with Argentina,” said Suarez, who exited the Copa America tournament early with a struggling Uruguayan side. “As a friend and a fan of soccer, I’d like to see him continue with the national team. His love for country is indisputable, but you also have to understand his reaction after losing the final.”
Before the final against Chile, Messi had been playing well in the tournament. In six games, he scored five goals — the second most in the Copa America. Only Chile’s Eduardo Vargas, who scored six times, scored more. Messi led the tournament in assists with four.
The overtime moments of the final match, however, soured the 29-year-old’s experience. When it was his turn in the penalty shoot-out that decided the match, Messi sailed his kick wide before collapsing in an emotional heap on the pitch.
Just minutes later, while talking to the Argentine press after the match, Messi announced his retirement.
Messi is vacationing in Ibiza, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, with his family, but he is expected to return to club play later this month, which Suarez said Friday that Messi is eager to do.
“I talk to Leo as a friend. I know he’s doing well. He’s having a good vacation,” Suarez said. “Like every player, he wants to come back and return to training.”
