Lionel Messi quits: Barcelona and Argentina superstar retires from international football after Copa America final heartache
South Americans lost their third consecutive major final on Sunday night with Messi missing a shoot-out penalty
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BARCELONA and Argentina hero Lionel Messi has quit international football after his latest Copa America heartache.
The little genius lost out in Sunday night's final to Chile after missing a penalty in the shoot-out conclusion.
The 29-year-old said."For me the national team is over. I've done all I can, it hurts not to be a champion.
"My thinking right now and thinking about it in the locker room, I'm done playing with the national team.
"I tried my hardest. It's been four finals and I was not able to win.
"I tried everything possible; it hurts me more than anyone, but it is evident that this is not for me.
"I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately it did not happen."
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Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero revealed the Barca master was in a terrible state in the dressing room.
He said: "Lamentably, the most f***** up is Leo because of the penalty. It's the worst I've seen him in the dressing room."
'Keeper Sergio Romero believes the iconic No10 might have revealed his retirement too hastily and hoped he would return to the team once the dust had settled on another crushing defeat.
He said: "I think that Leo spoke in the heat of the moment, because a good opportunity passed us by."
The magical footballer has taken a kick-in from former Argentina stars in recent weeks and that may have contributed to his decision.
Maradona regularly has a dig at his heir apparent and once again questioned his leadership skills at the start of June, saying: "He doesn’t have the personality of a leader."
And Cesar Luis Menotti, who won the 1978 World Cup as manager of Argentina praised his skill but had a dig at his spoilt upbringing in Barcelona instead of the mean streets of South America.
The former Barcelona coach said: "I've always said that [Messi] grew up in Barcelona, surrounded by the big stars, and doesn't have the DNA of Maradona, who came through a small team of Argentines, with all that this implies.
"For me, Messi is not a leader in that sense of being born fighting from below, but for me Messi has an exceptional and overwhelming footballing personality and is a tremendous football player.
"Diego was trying to say that he's not the kind of leader to stand before the group and shout and encourage in the way that he himself did, but the culture is different now.
"Argentina is where it is thanks to Messi because without him they wouldn't have got through the first round of the World Cup. He is the best player of recent years, comparable only to Pele, Maradona or Cruyff."