Former Argentina captain and World Cup 1986 winner Diego Maradona on Monday advised Lionel Messi to focus on FC Barcelona and club football and take a break from the national team.
“I will advise Messi to stay in Europe and focus on club football. He should take a break from the national team because they put undue pressure on him. They use him,” Maradona said.
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He continued that: “If I was Messi, I would just not play for Argentina because they would win more with me.”
The former Argentina coach also criticised the Argentina Football Association (AFA) saying that the body says it has no money to cater the national team needs, but signs Jorge Sampaoli for 20 million. “This should be investigated,” he said.
Maradona also expressed his opinion over who the next Argentina coach should be saying that Cesar Menotti and Diego Simeone were the best possible choices.