5 times Lionel Messi proved he is human

#2: Retiring from international football....and then changing his mind

Messi’s brief international retirement was like a child’s temper tantrum

While his Barcelona career has been wildly successful, Messi has had mixed results with his national team Argentina. We’ll get into that a little more later, but it’s a pretty accepted fact in football that unless you’re miles past your prime, you should represent your country until they no longer need you.

That wasn’t the case at all when Messi announced his retirement from international football in June 2016, following an unsuccessful Copa America campaign that saw Argentina lose in the final to Chile. The game went to a penalty shootout after ending 0-0, and to rub salt into the superstar’s wounds, Messi missed his penalty.

Following the loss – Messi’s fourth in a major final with Argentina – he announced that he was hanging up his international boots at just 29 years old, basically still in the prime of his career. It was an odd decision from the beginning – almost like a child refusing to play on after a bad loss.

Less than three months later though – after a fan campaign – Messi was back in the blue and white stripes of Argentina, claiming he hadn’t deceived anyone with the quick un-retirement. Not sure about that one, Leo.