The Barcelona maestro, who is hardly seen singing the anthem on international duty, has responded to questions asking him why he decided to sing it before the quarter-finals.
In case you didn’t know
Messi has encountered a fair share of criticism for his refusal to sing the Argentina national anthem during international games. In 2015, the 32-year-old revealed that once the media made a ruckus out of it, he stopped singing it on purpose.
Meanwhile, Tomas Chavez, a young mascot who accompanied the Argentine on the pitch during the Albiceleste’s win over Qatar, recently revealed that while the forward does not sing the national anthem, he hums it.
He said,
The heart of the matter
Argentina progressed to the semi-finals of the Copa America after defeating Venezuela 2-0 last night. Goals from Lautaro Martínez and Giovani Lo Celso helped secure the crucial win for the side, who has been underwhelming and unconvincing throughout the tournament.
After the game, Messi was seen speaking to reporters about the victory, when he was asked why he decided to sing the national anthem on this particular game.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner cheekily responded (via Fox Sports Asia), “Today I wanted to sing the anthem, and well, I sang it!
What’s next?
Argentina will go head-to-head with tournament hosts Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa America on July 3.
A post shared by Planeta Pelota (@planetapelota) on Jun 28, 2019 at 6:18pm PDT
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