Even if most experts in Argentina blame Messi for Carlos Tévez's exclusion from the Argentine National Team in recent years, Boca Juniors' legend stepped up to offer his support to his compatriot.
In a statement picked up by Clarín, "El Apache" sympathized with Messi's decision to think long and hard over his international future. The reason? The amount of criticism he has to deal with whenever he puts on the white and light blue jersey.
"It's a very personal decision. He needs to take all the time he needs to think how he can be happy with his decision. If he's happy and decides to come back, he'll surely be OK and his family will support him. If not, it's pretty clear why he is not interested in playing for Argentina, because it's been bad for him in recent years," Tévez said.
"Personally, I think that when you give everything you've got day in and day out, and you are taking all the blame, it's bad for the team and it's bad for him. I know what he's going through, and it's obvious why he is not feeling the urge to play for Argentina right now," Tévez added.
Messi and Tévez played the 2006 and 2010 World Cups together, but they had a very public falling out after the 2011 Copa América that saw Tévez get snubbed from the team for years.
Messi and Tévez had a very public feud, mainly because Tévez was left out of the Argentine National Team due to Messi's requests. Tévez was one of the first players to come out and say that Messi had special privileges within La Albiceleste, such as deciding which players should be called up and which should be snubbed.
Regardless of what happened before, Tévez admitted that if Messi decides to call it quits for good, the Argentine National Team will struggle even further to end their 25-year hoodoo without a major trophy.
"It would be devastating for the team. They would have to re-build the entire team. Luckily, he is yet to make a statement, so there is still hope about his future with La Albiceleste," Tévez concluded.
