Lionel Messi to be rested by Argentina for summer Olympics

The Argentina coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has said he will rest Lionel Messi for the summer Olympics in Rio.

Calling up the Barcelona forward would risk burning him out, he said, particularly as he was due to play in the centenary edition of the Copa América.

“Exposing Leo by using him in another competition after all the football he’s played would be overkill, in my opinion. It would come back to haunt us in terms of what we have in store in the second half of the year”, Martino told the Argentinian paper Clarín.

“Common sense dictates that he and other players in his position should only feature in the Copa América,” he added, although he admitted to not having discussed the subject with Messi.

“Considering the amount of football in their legs, because many of our most important players reach the latter stages of international competitions having played a lot of games, I think it’s only logical to take the weight of having to play in both the Copa América and the Olympics off their shoulders.

“I see it as more important for them to be in good shape for World Cup qualifying, for them to be able to spend pre-season with their clubs and have a break after the Copa América”, he said.

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