Brighton's Facundo Buonanotte says it is an "ugly feeling" knowing he will not play for Argentina in the upcoming Under-20 World Cup.
The Albion attacking midfielder was hoping to play in the tournament, which his home nation is hosting between May 20 and June 11, but he was not named in Javier Mascherano's squad.
According to The Athletic, Seagulls head coach Roberto De Zerbi was not keen on losing the 18-year-old before the end of the season - especially as he could have missed his side's games against Southampton (May 21), Manchester City (May 24), and Aston Villa (May 28).
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Reports suggest Mascherano wanted to include the teenager, who has made eight appearances for Brighton, in his team but was not in favour of Buonanotte joining the squad after several games of the competition - which Argentina have won a record six times.
Following this fallout, the former Rosario Central star, who signed for the Albion last November before linking up with the Sussex side in January, has lifted the lid on how disappointed he has been by this turn of events.
“It was very sad,” he told Telenoche, via Sport Witness. “An ugly feeling because I did everything possible to be there. When it was confirmed, I was very sad, but these are things that happen.
“The club had said yes to me, but when they contacted the team, they expressed that they wanted to release me with the tournament already started, but that could not be done.”
Buonanotte was called up to Argentina's national squad earlier this year for the first time and trained alongside the likes of World Cup winner and Seagulls teammate Alexis Mac Allister and PSG star Lionel Messi.
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