On Sunday, June 26, Chileans fans were ecstatic that their beloved team won the Copa America (American cup) finals. On the other side of the field however, a different story was taking place. Argentinean fans were screaming rude banters at their top player, Lionel Messi.
As they continued, tears flowed down Messi's eyes as he started becoming furious. As he became furious, he told newspapers that he tried his best but thought that playing for Argentina wasn't for him as he got to four finals and never won. So after saying this, Messi did the unthinkable and quit the national team.
Messi has always been a fan favorite for both his personal morals and his performance on the field. He is known to be the best player in the world, being one of the fastest players. His fans even call him "la pulga" which means "the flea." However, he wasn't always one of the best or strongest players. Messi had a very rough childhood growing up in Rosario, Argentina with a growth hormone deficiency.
Dealing with his disease, Messi had to stick needles into his legs every night until he was 14 years old. This made it hard for him because he was always the smallest on the soccer field. Since Argentina was not able to support him, he decided to look elsewhere - Spain. Messi was such a good player as a kid that many soccer teams watched as him as he grew up - Barcelona, included.
During the time of his disease, Barcelona decided that the best for him and the team was to have him come to Spain with his family and pay for his growth hormone medication.
Messi decided to take this as his chance, and at 14, left Argentina to live and play in Barcelona. Through Barcelona, Messi became a famous and popular player to watch. Scoring 18 goals in his early seasons, he already started becoming a fan favorite. In 2004, Messi began to play for FC Barcelona and in 2005, Argentina's national team.
Through Messi's continued success of breaking records and winning cups for Barcelona, people across the world started to know him as one of the best players in the world. There was just only one thing missing: a cup for Argentina.
Some fans of Argentina started to proclaim that Messi never did anything for Argentina. As time progressed, other fans had started to say the same. Messi had only been able to score cups with Barcelona, though he had tried his hardest bringing Argentina to five finals including FIFA's World Cup.
As fans became furious with Messi, he started to value the cup even more. Messi wanted to win a cup for Argentina more than anything but was never able to. This struggle and Argentina's fans sent Messi over the edge to quit.
After Messi quit, fans all over the world started to make posts and videos on social media to support Messi. There was even a hashtag called "siempre Messi" (always Messi) to support him. The President of Argentina also asked for Messi to come back.
Though Messi does not owe Argentina's national team, Messi became such a strong idol and a sense of hope for Argentina. Fans now plan to come together in both New York and Argentina to beg Messi to come back.
Do you think he should come back or just leave to be with Barcelona? What do you think pushed Messi the furthest towards his breaking point?
