'It's over for me': Lionel Messi says he is retiring

June 27, 2016 10:34

Lionel Messi says he is retiring from international football after losing Copa America final.

"It is incredible, the fact that we can't win it. It happened to us again, and by penalty kicks. It's the third consecutive final. We tried, We tried and it wasn't for us. It's difficult at this moment to do any sort of analysis. In the locker room, I thought, that the national team is not for me."

"It's what I feel now. It's a great sadness that it has happened to me again, the fact that I missed a penalty kick that was very important."

"It is for everybody's good. It's not enough to just get to the final and not win."

"I think my retirement is good for everyone. First for me and then for everyone else. There are a lot of people who wanted this. The national team is over for me. I have made my decision," Messi told the media post the Copa America final

With his country's Copa America title hopes in his hands, Lionel Messi felt the weight of the moment. Unfortunately for Argentina, one of the best players in the world failed to live up to the situation Sunday, when Messi badly missed an open net during penalty kicks in Argentina's 4-2 loss to Chile on PKs following a 0-0 tie.

Messi's reaction to his miss, which sailed over the crossbar after Claudio Bravo dove the opposite way, was difficult to witness, seeing a player that great doing his best to cover his face with his jersey.

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