Lionel Messi won’t be a part of Argentina’s Olympic squad as it would be a very hectic for the star striker to play at both Copa America and at Rio.
The decision was announced by the head coach of the Argentina Football team, Gerardo Martino, who said:
I always felt that it would be an exaggeration to have Leo play at the Olympics again, especially if you bear in mind there’s the Copa America first.Gerardo Martino
“It would have been a different matter had there not been a Copa before the Olympics. I discussed it with Leo and he agreed with me. It’s a bit like what has happened to Neymar. It seems like Brazil have made the decision to only take him to the Olympics and not the Copa,” the coach further added.
Messi guided Argentina to the gold medal in 2008.
(With inputs from IANS)
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