Maradona had said that Messi lacked character to be a leader.
Messi’s retirement might have shocked the world, but was the man who he’s always compared to responsible? The Argentinian who lost three finals in a row – the FIFA World Cup 2014, Copa America 2015 and Copa America 2016 – said that he had enough with the team.
He said: “It's tough, it's not the time for analysis. In the dressing room I thought that this is the end for me with the national team, it's not for me. That's the way I feel right now, it's a huge sadness once again and I missed the penalty that was so important. I tried so hard to be champion with Argentina. But it didn't happen. I couldn't do it."
He added: "There are four finals, not for me, unfortunately, it was what I wanted. More than ever I wanted to win at least this cup but (it) could not be. It's very hard, but the decision is taken. Now I will not try more and there will be no going back. I tried many times to get a title and failed."
Maybe it had something to do with the constant pressure back home or the media outrage every time he fails to win a trophy. There is a notion that refuses to go away that Messi doesn’t care for the Argentinian national team. That he left when he was young and he doesn’t care.
In fact, recently, in an unguarded conversation with Pele, Maradona was heard saying that Messi lacks the character to be a leader. When Pele asked Maradona if he knew Messi well, the former World Cup winner replied: “"He's a really good person, but he has no personality. He lacks [the] character to be a leader." Pele had said: "Ah, I get it, he's not like we were back in the days. In the 70s we [Brazil] had really good players like Rivellino, Gerson, Tostao. "Not like Argentina now, which depends only on Messi. He [Maradona] is saying that Messi is a good player, there's no doubt about it, but he has no personality."
Maradona’s assertion was greeted quite favourably back home where the notion that he just doesn’t play for the national team refuses to go away. It’s sad that we should be even questioning Messi’s dedication to the cause when the pain was writ large on his face after the terrible loss.
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 "Lionel Messi and Maradona")
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