{"id":238786,"date":"2016-08-12T21:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T21:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=238786"},"modified":"2016-08-12T21:00:38","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T21:00:38","slug":"lionel-messi-returns-to-argentina-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/08\/lionel-messi-returns-to-argentina-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi returns to Argentina squad"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Albiceleste captain announced he has reversed his decision to step down from international football, following a conversation with new coach Edgardo Bauza<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi has confirmed in a statement his intention to return to the Argentina national team.<\/p>\n
The Barcelona star made the decision to retire from international football after another heart-breaking loss in the final of the 2016 Copa America.<\/p>\n
Having spoken with new Albiceleste boss Edgardo Bauza, Messi has now made the decision to represent his country once again.<\/p>\n
“I see there are lots of problems in Argentine football and I do not want to create another,” he explained through a statement released on Friday.<\/p>\n
“I do not want to cause any harm, I have always tried to do the opposite and help wherever I could.<\/p>\n
“We have to fix a lot of things in Argentine football, but I’d rather do that from the inside and not criticising from the outside.”<\/p>\n
The captain affirmed that it was his love of Argentina that had convinced him to come back for the next World Cup qualifiers after initially stepping down from the team.<\/p>\n
“A lot of things went through my head the day of the last final and I seriously thought about quitting, but I love this country and this shirt too much,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I thank all the people who want me to keep playing with Argentina; I hope we can soon deliver them some joy.”
\n–
\nBy: Goal.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Albiceleste captain announced he has reversed his decision to step down from international football, following a conversation with new coach Edgardo Bauza Lionel Messi has confirmed in a statement his intention to return to the Argentina national team. The Barcelona star made the decision to retire from international football after another heart-breaking loss in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":238787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n