Argentina President Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits on the national team. 
 
Twenty-nine-year-old Messi announced his retirement from international football after missing his spot-kick in the decisive shootout, as Argentina once again lost to Chile for a second straight year in the Copa America final at Met Life Stadium, the United States on Sunday. 
 
According to the goal.com, Macri said that he was really proud of the national team&#39;s performance and requested the Barcelona star ignore the criticism. The Argentina President also took to micro-blogging website Twitter, asking Messi not to leave the team.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I never feel greater pride in our team. I hope the joy of seeing the best in the world will continue for many years more. #NoTeVayasLio,&quot; he tweeted. 
 
Meanwhile, Legendary Argentina footballer Diego Maradona also appealed to the Barcelona talisman to reconsider his retirement plans for the national team&#39;s benefit. &quot;He has to rely more on boys who can help take the team forward and less on those who say they have to go. Those who are saying he should quit are doing it so that we won&#39;t see what a disaster Argentine football has become,&quot; Maradona said. 
 
Following the 4-2 loss on penalties, a visibly distraught Messi said that it hurts not to be a champion despite reaching four finals before adding that &quot;The national team is over for me&quot;. 
 
Despite winning eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Barcelona, Messi&#39;s only major international honour is Olympic gold at the 2008 Games. In addition to losing three Copa America finals (2007, 2015, 2016), Messi&#39;s Argentina were beaten by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. 
 
(ANI)&nbsp;

Legendary Argentina footballer Diego Maradona also appealed to the Barcelona star to reconsider his retirement plans

Argentina President Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits on the national team. Twenty-nine-year-old Messi announced his retirement from international football after missing his spot-kick in the decisive shootout, as Argentina once again lost to Chile for a second straight year in the Copa America final at Met Life Stadium, the United States on Sunday. According to the goal.com, Macri said that he was really proud of the national team's performance and requested the Barcelona star ignore the criticism. The Argentina President also took to micro-blogging website Twitter, asking Messi not to leave the team. "I never feel greater pride in our team. I hope the joy of seeing the best in the world will continue for many years more. #NoTeVayasLio," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Legendary Argentina footballer Diego Maradona also appealed to the Barcelona talisman to reconsider his retirement plans for the national team's benefit. "He has to rely more on boys who can help take the team forward and less on those who say they have to go. Those who are saying he should quit are doing it so that we won't see what a disaster Argentine football has become," Maradona said. Following the 4-2 loss on penalties, a visibly distraught Messi said that it hurts not to be a champion despite reaching four finals before adding that "The national team is over for me". Despite winning eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Barcelona, Messi's only major international honour is Olympic gold at the 2008 Games. In addition to losing three Copa America finals (2007, 2015, 2016), Messi's Argentina were beaten by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. (ANI)

Argentina President urges Messi not to call it quits

<div style="text-align: justify;">Diego Maradona has offered to support new FIFA chief Gianni Infantino&#39;s bid to improve the running of football in Argentina. 
Speaking upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the Argentine legend said: &quot;I&#39;m not going to be a FIFA observer, I&#39;m coming to collaborate directly with Gianni Infantino. 
&quot;I&#39;m not going to arrive at AFA (the Argentine Federation) to drop a bomb and start everything again from zero. On the contrary, I want Argentine football to become strong again, as it&#39;s always been, but with transparency.&quot; 
Elected in February to succeed Sepp Blatter, Infantino &quot;had a very positive and constructive meeting&quot; with Maradona in Paris on June 10, a FIFA spokesperson told AFP. 
&quot;It is important that true legends of the game like Diego Maradona are interested in the future of the game and involve themselves in the promotion and development of football.&quot; 
Maradona, who starred in Argentina&#39;s 1986 World Cup triumph, has often in the past been critical of world football authorities, last year saying Blatter had made a &quot;disgrace&quot; of the game. 
&quot;This was another step in implementing the FIFA President&#39;s vision to reconnect FIFA with the players who have made the history of the game,&quot; the FIFA spokesperson added. 
&quot;FIFA is committed to help and assist find a sustainable solution for the governance of Argentinian football. And Diego Maradona has offered his support.&quot; 
A joint FIFA and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) mission is presently visiting Argentina. 
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has been left reeling following the death of long-time president Julio Grondona in 2014, which unleashed an internal power struggle, and the FIFA corruption scandal, which implicated several figures in the world of Argentine football. 
AFA is also under investigation for suspected misuse of millions of dollars it received from the Argentine government under a programme called Football for All, in which matches were broadcast for free. (AFP)</div>

Says he wants Argentine football to become strong again, 'but with transparency'

Diego Maradona has offered to support new FIFA chief Gianni Infantino's bid to improve the running of football in Argentina. Speaking upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the Argentine legend said: "I'm not going to be a FIFA observer, I'm coming to collaborate directly with Gianni Infantino. "I'm not going to arrive at AFA (the Argentine Federation) to drop a bomb and start everything again from zero. On the contrary, I want Argentine football to become strong again, as it's always been, but with transparency." Elected in February to succeed Sepp Blatter, Infantino "had a very positive and constructive meeting" with Maradona in Paris on June 10, a FIFA spokesperson told AFP. "It is important that true legends of the game like Diego Maradona are interested in the future of the game and involve themselves in the promotion and development of football." Maradona, who starred in Argentina's 1986 World Cup triumph, has often in the past been critical of world football authorities, last year saying Blatter had made a "disgrace" of the game. "This was another step in implementing the FIFA President's vision to reconnect FIFA with the players who have made the history of the game," the FIFA spokesperson added. "FIFA is committed to help and assist find a sustainable solution for the governance of Argentinian football. And Diego Maradona has offered his support." A joint FIFA and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) mission is presently visiting Argentina. The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has been left reeling following the death of long-time president Julio Grondona in 2014, which unleashed an internal power struggle, and the FIFA corruption scandal, which implicated several figures in the world of Argentine football. AFA is also under investigation for suspected misuse of millions of dollars it received from the Argentine government under a programme called Football for All, in which matches were broadcast for free. (AFP)

Maradona offers to help new FIFA chief improve running of game in Argentina

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Argentina President urges Messi not to call it quits

Maradona offers to help new FIFA chief improve running of game in Argentina