East Rutherford (United States) (AFP) - Lionel Messi sensationally announced his retirement from international football after Argentina crashed to an upset defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America.
"For me the national team is over. I've done all I can, it hurts not to be a champion," the 29-year-old Barcelona superstar told reporters on Sunday after his fourth defeat in a major final with Argentina.
Chile beat Argentina in the final for the second straight year, 4-2 in the shootout following a 0-0 tie that ended an expanded 16-nation edition in the United States to mark the championship's 100th anniversary.
Messi, five-time FIFA Player of the Year, winner of four Champions League titles and eight Spanish La Liga crowns with Barcelona, was crushed. Much of his nation had counted on him to bring home its first major title since 1993. Playing two days after his 29th birthday, Messi lost a final for the third year in a row and the fourth time overall with Argentina. There was also the 2007 Copa final with Brazil, when he was still a wunderkind, and then an extra-time defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup.
A crowd of 82,076 filled MetLife Stadium — the largest to see a soccer game in New Jersey — and many wore his No. 10 jersey in Argentina's blue and white and Barcelona's navy and red. The tournament's average crowd of 46,119 was nearly double the 25,223 in Chile last year, and attendance will be used by the U.S. Soccer Federation as justification it deserves to host a World Cup again, likely as part of a bid for the 2026 tournament.
