Lionel Messi Values Barcelona Glory Above Argentina Success, Says Team Director

Argentina director Cesar Luis Menotti has suggested Lionel Messi values success with Barcelona more than his country and would rather win the UEFA Champions League than an international trophy. 

Ahead of the 2019 Copa America, Menotti said he was sure talisman Messi remains happy with Argentina but hinted the forward would prioritise a major trophy with his club, per Marca:

"It wouldn't cost him anything to say that his big toe hurt if he didn't feel like it, but if he's with us it's because he's happy to do it.

"I don't think there's anyone who wants to win more than Messi does with Argentina. If there is, I haven't spoken to him.

"But I'm sure if you asked Messi if he'd rather be a champion with Argentina or win the Champions League, he would say the Champions League."

It's a curious comment from a high-ranking member of Argentina's setup three weeks before the Copa America gets under way. The tournament kicks off on June 14, and La Albiceleste are hoping to end their title torment after back-to-back runner-up finishes to Chile in 2015 and 2016.

Messi has featured in only one of his country's last eight fixtures (all friendlies) but was named in coach Lionel Scaloni's squad for the trip to Brazil:

The 31-year-old has won the UEFA Champions League four times with Barcelona, has 10 La Liga titles and could add a seventh Copa del Rey to his collection if the Blaugrana beat Valencia in Saturday's final.

However, his biggest accomplishments on the international stage remain his 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal, a runner-up finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and three Copa America silvers.

The second of Argentina's successive penalty-shootout defeats to Chile in the Copa led him to announce his retirement from international football in June 2016, though he returned to the fold in August that year.

Gabrielle Amado of beIN Sports analysed Messi's tumultuous relationship with Argentina and his most recent comeback after missing six matches for the team:

Menotti, who coached Argentina to the 1978 World Cup, could have aimed his comments at the country's record scorer—65 goals in 129 games—in an effort to rouse him ahead of the tournament in June. 

Many would argue it's the players around Messi—not the individual himself—that have prevented him from replicating his club success on the international stage.

Only the player will know whether Menotti's assessment is true. Messi wasn't able to lead Argentina past the last 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, though he was undoubtedly one of their more impressive players.

It would be a special triumph if Argentina were to end their 26-year wait for a Copa triumph inside Brazilian borders, with Messi again bearing the weight of a nation under pressure to succeed.