Lionel Messi is going through his worst moment with the Argentine National Team after FIFA sanctioned him with four matches in the Russia 2018 Qualifiers for insulting the assistant referee during the Argentina-Chile match. That's why his teammate, goalkeeper Mariano Andújar, came out in defense of his captain and stated that he should stay in Spain and not come to the National Team anymore.
"I thought one of the guys from the National Team would shake things up. I thought Leo wouldn't come back, really, but he loves the National Team very much. He shouldn't come anymore. Why should he come? To be booed? Why should he come!", he declared to the Dos Contra Uno program in La Plata.
The Estudiantes de la Plata player maintained that 'La Pulga' (Messi) loves his national team but believes that he is not valued as he deserves. "Nobody values him, everyone says why he doesn't play like he does in Barcelona, that he doesn't feel like it... He said he wouldn't come back anymore and they even put up billboards on 9 de Julio Avenue asking for Messi to come back. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it", Andújar declared.
Messi won't be able to play with Argentina in the matches against Bolivia, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Peru. His return would be against Ecuador in Quito for the last match of the Russia 2018 Qualifiers. Despite this punishment, the AFA hopes to reduce the sentence to two matches. In this case, the Barcelona player could play against the Peruvian National Team in the penultimate match.
