"Inter Miami" and Argentina national team forward Lionel Messi shared his memories of the period after leaving the national team in 2016.
Idman.Biz reports that Messi changed his mind at the end of that year.
"It was painful and very difficult. Everything was going great in Barcelona: I was happy, I was in my element. But when I came to Argentina, I felt like an outsider. People were cursing me, everything was going badly, we couldn't achieve the results we wanted. My family suffered the most because they stayed in Argentina. They had to endure all the TV shows and criticism, and I knew little about it because I didn't watch them. But my loved ones knew everything and suffered a lot. It was painful, but every day it made me think about what would happen next.
I was very hurt when I thought there was nothing else I could give to the national team. Fortunately, I was able to take my words back. The best example is never give up and never give up.
I saw that there is a generation of children who stand up for me and are ready to fight with everyone to protect me. This is an intergenerational thing. The generation that saw Diego Maradona's game idolizes him not only in football, but for everything he gave us. Another generation grew up in a different environment and may not have seen him play. That's why they identify with something else. That's normal. I've always been the same. I have never contradicted myself. I have always lived with the values I grew up with at home in Argentina and strengthened them in Barcelona. That's how I grew up. My father worked all day. I almost never saw him: he came home after working nights and took me to training," Messi told LUZU TV.