Watch: Lionel Messi makes no effort while pressing in the Copa America Semis against Brazil as Argentina crash out of the tournament.
Lionel Messi walked out of yet another International tournament without a Trophy. For all the accolades that the Argentine star has won with Barcelona, he has continued to falter at the closing stages with his country.
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The current Copa America provided Messi with the opportunity to finally open his account. However, the Argentina skipper failed to deliver for his country and ended with only one goal; none from open play.
Messi had blamed the pitches earlier for his poor performances while admitting he hadn’t played as well as he would’ve like. This time he blamed the officiating as Argentina crashed out of Copa America after losing 2-0 to Brazil in the semi-final.
Messi claims referee biased
The 32-year-old was very unhappy. While speaking to reporters in the post-match interview, he said:
“They [the officials] had called a lot of bullst, but they didn’t even check the VAR, that’s unbelievable. That happened all over the game. At the first glance of contact, they ruled in their [Brazil’s] favour and this kind of bullst distracted us from the game. Throughout the tournament they called bullst handballs, bullst penalties, and bulls**t fouls. But somehow today, they refused to use VAR.”
Messi was praised by fans and the press for his improved showing at the semi-finals. He was particularly brilliant when his team were in possession. The skipper created complicated situations for the Brazilian defenders. However, there were some that noticed that he was not giving it his all when Argentina were out of possession.
Messi Sleepwalking
A video clip has emerged that shows Lionel Messi lazily pressing almost making no effort to win the ball.
Lionel Messi will have another chance at an International trophy next year when Copa America takes place once again. Fans around the world will hope that Messi will have an improved showing next time and finally win an International title.
Copa America 2020 will be Co-hosted by Argentina and Colombia. Maybe Messi will finally lap the big victory in front of his home crowd.
