Diego Maradona, captain of his country in the their second World Cup triumph in 1986, was among many leading personalities to speak out in support of Messi, who appeared badly affected by the penalty shootout loss to Chile in New Jersey.
The 29-year-old Messi, a multiple trophy winner with Barcelona, has now been part of four final defeats with the national team, three in the Copa America and at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
"Messi must carry on in the national team... because he still has a lot to give, because he'll get to (2018 World Cup hosts) Russia with chances of being world champion," Maradona was quoted as saying in the Argentine daily La Nacion on Monday June 27,2016
"He has to lean more on the lads who can help him take the team forward and less on those who say he should leave," added Maradona, who played in two World Cup finals.
"Messi was abandoned and I don't want to abandon him. That's why I want to talk to him, to fight against all those who abandoned him," said Maradona, who coached Messi and Argentina at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
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