The Buenos Aires government has revealed a statue of Argentina superstar Lionel Messi after the forward announced he was retiring from international duty.
Messi emotionally stepped away from the Argentinian national side after suffering a third defeat in a major final in three years. The 29-year-old missed his penalty kick as his side fell to Chile in the Copa America final on Sunday.
There has been a huge backlash following Messi’s decision to stop representing his country with thousands of people supporting a return for their No.10.
And Buenos Aires mayor Horacio Larreta Rodriguez unveiled a bronze statue of Messi in the city on Tuesday, after pleading with the forward to consider changing his mind on the decision.
The entire Argentina capital is caught up in the campaign to keep Messi in the national team, with street signs and billboards being dedicated to flashing up the hashtag #NoTeVayasLio (Don’t go, Lio).
There has been no word from Messi about his future since the heart-breaking defeat to Chile. His side loss to the same team on penalties in the final last summer and were defeated in the World Cup final in 2014 by Germany, thanks to a Mario Gotze goal in extra time.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and the country’s President Mauricio Macri had earlier urged Messi not to leave the national team.
The news has caused a massive uproar in his home country, with fans and legends insisting the Argentina captain should not retire yet.
The country’s president, Mauricio Macri, has now revealed that he called Messi to tell him to “ignore some of the nonsense”, according to The New York Times.
Macri, who is a former president of Argentina giants Boca Juniors, says he wants to meet Messi in person in order to persuade him to rethink his decision.
“The truth is that it’s good fortune, a joy, a gift from God to have the best player in the world in a country like ours that is so football-crazy,” he added.
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