Fresh speculation has arisen over Lionel Messi’s future in the Argentina squad. His close friend and team-mate Leandro Paredes has said the wearer of the number 10 shirt had decided to retire from international football after the World Cup final.
Paredes is one of the people closest to Messi. The Boca Juniors midfielder has long been LM10’s team-mate in the national side, and the two also played together at PSG. Paredes’s account of Messi’s thinking on retirement has therefore carried added weight.
Paredes told journalists: “It hurts, because throughout the World Cup we said we did not want Messi’s last match to come. I think he had decided that it (the World Cup final) was his last match for the national team.”
Paredes hopes, however, that Messi will set the question of retirement aside for now and go on playing for Argentina: “I hope that will not happen. I hope he can play more. The decision will be his. Whatever makes him happy will be a joy for us too.”
With discussion of Messi’s future at its height, Paredes is not certain about his own future either. He said he needs time to take his next decision after the recent success with Argentina: “I do not know, it is a process. We have to digest it and think. No decision can be taken in a hurry. Of course it will have to be discussed.”
Paredes added: “For many people the decision whether or not to carry on will be hard. It was a beautiful, extraordinary process. We achieved something important. It will be hard to hold this level and keep the team working like this. We have many things to consider, we have to talk to the coach and take the decision calmly.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report