Argentina President, Maradona, Fans, His Fellows Urge Messi To Stay On

A spot-kick blazed high into the stands.

Will that be Lionel Messi's last touch in international football?

The 29-year-old Argentinian wizard announced his retirement from the international game right after his side lost the Copa America final to Chile on Sunday.

In a fixture decided on penalties, Messi cut a disconsolate figure pumping his shot way over the bar and failing yet again to guide his side in a major tournament.

The world's attention quickly turned from Chile's heroics in retaining their title to Messi's shock retirement. On Tuesday Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, football legend Diego Maradona and millions of fans around the world joined an ever-increasing chorus pleading the player to reverse his decision.

"He has to stay because he still has playing days ahead of him," Maradona was quoted as saying by La Nacion newspaper online.

"He will go to Russia in form to be world champion."

Messi is widely rated as the best player in the world, but Sunday's loss was his fourth defeat in an international final for Argentina. The team has not won a major trophy for 23 years now.

President Macri joined the calls for the Barcelona superstar to stay with with the national team.

"He called him and told him how proud he feels of the national team's performance and asked him not to listen to the criticism," a spokesman for Macri told AFP by telephone.

Argentine football 'disaster'

The 1986 World Cup winner Maradona, 55, blamed Argentina's recent lack of trophies on the country's football association (AFA).

He accused it of not supporting Messi and letting him take the blame for Sunday's defeat.

"Those who are saying he should quit are doing it so that we won't see what a disaster Argentine football has become," La Nacion quoted Maradona as saying.

Messi and the squad landed back in Buenos Aires on Monday evening after the tournament in the United States.

Television cameras followed their coach but the players had yet to make any comment to the media.

String of defeats

Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the final of the 2014 World Cup and lost on penalties, also to Chile, in the 2015 Copa America final.

Messi also tasted defeat with Argentina in the final of the 2007 Copa America.

In this month's Copa semi-final win over the United States, he became Argentina's top international scorer of all time with his 55th goal.

But after Sunday's final, his typical composure gave way to tears of frustration.

"I've done all I can, I've been in four finals and it hurts not to be a champion," Messi told reporters.

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Brexit for English,English is at Risk as E.U Language

English could vanish as an official EU language if Brexit proceeds. EU Commission head Juncker has avoided using English, and a top EU parliamentary official has warned of language rules contained in EU treaties.

Danuta Hubner, a Polish politician and chair of the European Parliament's constutitional affairs committee, has come out with a warning that a British exit from the European Union could also delete English from the EU's list of 24 official languages. That possibility reverberated Tuesday far beyond the administrative levels of Article 50 - the provision allowing a member state to leave the bloc under EU treaty rules.

Addressing the European Parliament on Tuesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke only in French and German, clearly avoiding the use of English. During past crises, on the euro zone, for example, he had used English prominently as well.

"We have a regulation … where every EU country has the right to notify one official language," Hübner had told a press conference late on Monday.

"If we don't have the UK, we don't have English (as an official language)," she warned, adding that keeping it would require assent by all remaining member states.

If Britain leaves, English is at risk, warns Hübner.

The chairman of the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) was referring to the Treaty on European Union in its consolidated version published in early June that incorporates wordings of the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties of 1992 and 2007 respectively.

Her remarks prompted the Wall Street Journal to observe that the European Commission had begun using French and German more often in its external communications since Britain voted to leave the EU last Thursday.

Main working language

English is the main working language of EU institutions and officials in Brussels and Strasbourg, and - to avoid misunderstandings - at the European Central Bank. It's also one of three languages used for EU patent applications.

English-speaking Malta on EU entry in 2004 picked Maltese. Ireland chose Irish Gaelic in 1973. French was the EU's dominant official language until the arrival from the 1990s of Sweden, Finland and Austria, and then eastern European nations.

Article 50 of the consolidated Treaty on European Union allows "any member state" to withdraw from the bloc.

Translations required

Article 55 of the Treaty on European Union - dating back to Maastricht - stipulates that the treaty must be "equally authentic" in each of the EU's 24 official languages, with English currently included.

That article also states that member states may determine that the treaty "also be translated into any other languages" - one of the many tasks for the European Commission with its permanent staff of 1,750 linguists and 600 assistants.

Article 20 under the headline "Non-Discrimination" says citizens of the Union have the right via the treaty to petition and address the European Parliament, EU institutions and the European Ombudsman "in any of the Treaty languages and to obtain a reply in the same language."

An add-on treaty protocol states in its Article 4 that any draft legislation originating from a member state or EU council president must be translated into the other "official languages of the Union" within eight weeks.

Another treaty protocol (number 3) on the European Court of Justice states that its "language arrangements shall be laid down" by European Council "acting unanimously," after consulting the European Parliament and Commission.

Post-Brexit: do-it-yourself translations?

Hübner on Monday said that if Britain quit the EU, Article 55 listing the EU's treaty languages would have to be expanded unanimously by the remaining member states to retain English as one of the bloc's official languages.

Otherwise, postulated the news agency Reuters, Britons - and by implication English-speakers outside the EU - "would have to do translations themselves."

French and German officials have long lobbied for their mother tongues to be more widely used in Brussels. English has been hard to dislodge as Europe's lingua franca.

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Laliga Scorer records: Ronaldo becomes second top scorer in Liga

cristiano Ronaldo struck four goals in Real Madrid's 7-1 victory against Celta Vigo to overtake Telmo Zarra and move into second place in the all-time Spanish Liga scoring charts.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck four goals against Celta Vigo on Saturday to move into second spot on the list of the Spanish Liga's all-time leading scorers.

Ronaldo, top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 88 in the competition proper, now has 252 goals in the Spanish top flight, 53 short of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. The Portuguese international – who overtook Raúl González as the leading scorer in Madrid's history earlier this season – moves ahead of Telmo Zarra in the Liga scoring charts.

Ronaldo is also the top scorer in this season's UEFA Champions League with 12 goals, having hit a group stage record of 11 in the autumn.

Spanish Liga all-time leading goalscorers
1. Lionel Messi, 305 (337) – Barcelona
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 252 (228) – Real Madrid
3. Telmo Zarra, 251 (278) – Athletic Club
4. Hugo Sánchez, 234 (347) – Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano
5. Raúl González, 228 (550) – Real Madrid
6. Alfredo di Stéfano, 227 (329) – Real Madrid, Espanyol
7. César Rodríguez Álvarez, 223 (353) – Barcelona, Granada, Deportivo Leonesa, Elche
8. Quini, 219 (448) – Sporting Gijón, Barcelona
9. Pahiño, 210 (278) – Celta Vigo, Real Madrid, Deportivo
10. Mundo, 195 (231) – Valencia, Alcoyano

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From OldTrafford: Martial is the same as Ronaldo, in Manchester United-say Eric Cantona

Manchester United great Eric Cantona gave a glowing review of fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial, saying he is "as strong as" Brazil legend Ronaldo.

Martial's arrival at Old Trafford left many scratching their heads, particularly as the club paid £36 million to acquire the France international.

But the striker has proven a shrewd investment, having recorded 17 goals and 11 assists in his debut campaign ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final clash with Crystal Palace.

Martial's pace, skill in tight areas and nose for goal has seen comparisons drawn between him and Ronaldo, and compatriot Cantona says he is worthy of the praise.

"He's very mature for his age. I think he's the same kind of player as Ronaldo," he told MUTV. "Of course Ronaldo is a Brazilian, but he's as strong as him. Martial is skilful, he wants to score goals and he has good vision.

Cantona said his compatriot had arrived at the perfect club to nurture his talent, just as United did for Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.

"At Manchester, it's a great club for young players when you are in the academy and also when you are 18, 19 or 20 years old," he continued.

"[At that age] you need to go and play for a great team and also you need to work with people who will help you because you're still a young player, just as [Cristiano] Ronaldo, the Portuguese Ronaldo, did when he came to play for United and for [Sir Alex] Ferguson.

"He had the opportunity to win trophies, but also Ferguson helped him to be the player he is today.

"And I think he [Martial] has been very clever to choose Manchester United."

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