Let Messi decide his own international future, reckons former Argentine footballer Javier Saviola

Former Argentina forward Javier Saviola feels that countryman Lionel Messi should be given ample of time to take a call on his international career.

“We all know Argentina didn’t perform as expected in the last World Cup. But I think we should just let Messi be. Just let him relax. He will need time to decide whether he wants to play with Argentina,” he said, as quoted by PTI.

“Hopefully, he will come back but if it is otherwise, it will be his personal choice,” he further added.
Saviola was a part of the World cup squad in 2006 which also included Messi.

The Barcelona talisman had temporarily decided to call it a day on his international career in 2016 after he missed a penalty in Argentina’s heartbreaking loss to Chile in the Copa America final.

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But he returned to the national side and single-handedly took the team to the World Cup this year. Even though Argentina managed to make it to the knockout stages, they were knocked out by eventual champions France, who defeated the South American side 3-4.

But Saviola is hopeful that Argentina will come up with a ‘real team’ when they play the World Cup the next time.

“Argentina have a lot of talented players who play for the best clubs in the world but to do well at a major competition you need to be a real team,” he said.

“I hope the next time we play a tournament we will be a team and not a collection of individuals. Only then, will we be in a position we deserve.”

Saviola played for the Barcelona legends team against their counterparts from Mohun Bagan- a match in which he scored a goal and grabbed an assist to help his team win the match 6-0.