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Argentine Football Association (AFA) President Claudio Tapia stated that Lionel Messi is very important for the organisation as his appearances draw huge financial benefits for them.
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Claudio also said that the early exit from World cup would have been a great blow to the swift Argentine but it is very important for Messi to stay in the seniors squad for the betterment of the outcomes from International fixtures as well as in terms of AFA benefits.
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“Emotionally, this blow must have been very hard on him, but Argentina needs him. From a financial standpoint, Messi is very important to the AFA.”, said Claudio Tapia.
The AFA President also accepted the fact that everyone has put a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. He is always expected to perform and win matches for his country and when it doesn’t happen, he is the only one who is criticised heavily.
“We saw him like many others did, with this degree of responsibility that we also generated a little bit,” Tapia said of Messi, who scored one goal and set up two more at the World Cup. “We thought he was a superhero but he is a human being. He is the best player in the world but he is a human being. We loaded him with responsibilities that ended up backfiring.”, he added.
Messi has not spoken about his stay with the national side post the early exit from World Cup 2018. He managed to score just 1 goal and provide two assists missing a penalty against Iceland to make it a forgetful World Cup for the Argentine fans as well as himself.
“I think Messi will continue. He loves the Argentina national team a lot. We have a lot of confidence in him,” said Tapia.
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