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KABUL (SW): Legendary footballer Lionel Messi has announced his return to Argentina's national team also known as La Albiceleste for their World Cup qualifiers in September, ending his short-lived retirement from international football.
Messi was subsequently announced in Argentina's squad for September's World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela.
The Barcelona star quit his national team after Argentina lost its second consecutive Copa America final to Chile in June, extending the country’s 23-year wait for a major title.
“The national team is over for me. That’s four finals [lost], it’s not for me,” Messi said after the match. “It’s a made decision, I think.”
"I see that there are a lot of problems in Argentina football and I don't want to create more," Messi said in a statement on Friday. "I don't want to cause harm, on the contrary, my goal was to help in any way I could." "There are many things that need to be fixed in Argentine football. But I prefer to help from inside rather than stand on the outside and criticise," the statement continued.
According to the ESPN, Messi has made references to the problems within the federation in the past.
A few days before the Copa final, he tweeted that Argentine soccer’s governing body was “a disaster” following a series of delayed flights and problems finding opponents for training games.
Argentina's record goalscorer is widely regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, player of all time. He has won the European Champions League on four occasions with Barcelona and has eight Spanish La Liga championship medals.
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