Lionel Messi's Potential Argentina Return Discussed by President Mauricio Macri

Argentina President Mauricio Macri doesn’t expect Lionel Messi to follow through with his international retirement, having insisted he is “sure” the Barcelona man will play for his country again.

In the aftermath of the Albiceleste’s loss to Chile on penalties in the final of the Copa America Centenario, Messi stated that he would be walking away from international football. However, Macri revealed at a conference in Idaho that he has spoken to the 29-year-old about the decision.

“I talked to him on the phone; I'm sure he will come back,” he said, per Adam Shergold of MailOnline. “He’s the best in the world.”

Additionally, at a function in Berlin, he suggested that Messi could be back again at the next FIFA World Cup. “We hope that Messi will be in Russia so that we can gain that revenge in the final,” he added, per the same source.

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While Messi’s time with Barcelona has been a sequence of astounding successes, recent experiences with the national team have been heartbreaking.

This summer’s loss in the Copa America showpiece was the third major final in which the team have fallen short in two years. To make things even worse for Messi, he missed a penalty in the 2016 shootout and was noticeably distressed on the field after Chile trumped the Albiceleste for the second year in a row.

Although there has been criticism of Messi following the tournament exits, his performances for the national team have been exceptional down the years, and he broke Gabriel Batistuta’s goalscoring record for Argentina during the competition.

As noted by Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe, he was the most effective attacking player at the Copa:

It’s no great surprise that plenty are keen to get Messi back in the setup as soon as possible. As noted by Maximilian Heath of Reuters, supporters took to the streets of Buenos Aires to plead with the Barcelona man to change is mind.

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Argentina icon Diego Maradona has also had his say on the issue. “He has to stay because he still has playing days ahead of him,” the former forward told La Nacion (h/t Paul Vinnell of Sky Sports). “He will go to Russia [2018 World Cup] in form to be world champion.”

Boca Juniors star Carlos Tevez, who has played alongside Messi for Argentina, thinks the player will also change his mind given time, per Bleacher Report UK:

Should Messi decide to return to the international setup, it’d be a timely boost for the Argentine Football Association (AFA). 

Indeed, as reported by Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, not only has former head coach Gerardo Martino resigned from his post on the cusp of the Olympic Games, there was a bomb threat at the AFA headquarters and there have been stories gathering pace Argentina could be expelled from FIFA due to political intervention.

Messi’s decision did come at an emotional time for him, as once again he failed to make the final step with his team. But after receiving some flak for his efforts in the Albiceleste jersey, it seems a lot of the country has woken up to the fact that this team has gone so close on so many occasions because of the forward, not in spite of him.