Former Paris Saint Germain and Manchester United player, Angel Di Maria has announced his retirement from the national team.

The midfielder confirmed that he will leave the World Cup winners after the 2024 Copa America. This decision means that Angel Di Maria will not be part of the team that will play the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

He said,

“I will leave Argentina national team after Copa América, it is over for me. I hugged Messi at PSG and told him: the only thing I’m grateful for is to have been able to play with you in a club, to be able to see you every day.”

He revealed that he was close to announcing his international retirement after the loss in the Copa America final after Lionel Messi announced that he quit international football. There were reports after the defeat to Chile on penalties.

There were reports that players, including Di Maria, were considering leaving the national team because of Messi, a decision which the former Barcelona player rescinded.

Di Maria said he was close to international retirement after a third straight final defeat, following on from the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa America.

“When Messi retired, I thought about doing the same, you can lose a final, but three in a row, that’s something different. I thought about leaving the national team, but my wife and my father stopped me. I almost started therapy, but in the end, I decided it was something I had to figure out by myself, If I lose another final, that’s it.”

He had made 134 appearances, finding the back of the net 29 times and also the same number of assists. He has also won five trophies with the South American team.
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