Paris Saint-Germain refuses to call up Messi for the Argentine national team

Leonardo, the sporting director of French football club Paris Saint-Germain, said that calling up the star Lionel Messi for the Argentine national team, despite his lack of complete readiness, is illogical.

The 34-year-old's start with Paris Saint-Germain was full of injuries, since he joined the team from Barcelona in a sudden transfer.

And after his absence from the German Leipzig match in the Champions League last week (it ended in a 2-2 draw), and the victory over Bordeaux in the league championship due to knee and hamstring injuries, bringing the total of the matches in which he participated in eight of the 18 matches that the team played so far this season. current.

Despite suffering injuries in recent months, Messi is in the Argentina squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil in the next eight days.

Mauricio Pochettino, coach of the Paris Saint-Germain team, said last Friday that he is happy that Messi will have the opportunity to play with the Argentine national team, which will help him regain his usual fitness.

Despite this, Leonardo is not happy with the Argentine national team's decision to recall Messi, demanding the intervention of the International Federation (FIFA).

"We do not agree to allow a player to join the national team when he is not in full fitness or in the rehabilitation stage," Leonardo said in comments reported by the French newspaper "Le Parisien".

He added: "This is illogical and these kinds of situations require the intervention of FIFA."

Messi played only 325 minutes in the French league with Paris Saint-Germain, compared to 450 minutes with the Argentine national team in the team's World Cup qualifiers matches in September and October, and this does not include the Brazil match, which was postponed.

Messi, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, scored three goals in his first eight matches with the French team, but so far he has not been able to score or assist in the league championship.

Messi scored for the Argentine national team in 2021/22 more than he did with Paris Saint-Germain, by scoring four goals in five matches.

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