Messi announces return from international retirement

Barcelona, Aug 13 (IANS) Football fans the world over got a huge reason to cheer about after Argentina icon Lionel Messi announced that he has decided to come out of international retirement.

"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."

A disappointed Messi had announced his international retirement after Chile defeated Argentina in the final of the Copa America Centenario in June.

It was the third consecutive loss for Argentina in the final of a major tournament following defeats at the 2015 Copa America and the 2014 World Cup.

The announcement led to an outcry in Argentina with fans from all over the world expressing their disappointment. Even the legendary Diego Maradona urged the Barcelona superstar to reconsider his decision.

--IANS

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