Barcelona star Javier Mascherano has refused to confirm whether he will retire from international football with Argentina.
Following the Copa America Final penalty shoot-out defeat against Chile last week, captain Lionel Messi retired from the international scene after suffering three consecutive defeats in major finals – and his fourth overall with the Albiceleste.
It was reported that many of the squad were considering their futures with the national team including Mascherano, who has won 129 caps for Argentina, but he has revealed that a final decision over his international career is yet to be made.
He told reporters, as per Goal:
“With respect to national team, I will not make any comments.
“It is something I will keep to myself and I prefer not to make any comments to anyone, because we’ve just finished a very painful Copa America.
“It is not the time to decide anything.”
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The 32-year-old, however, is set to stay at the Camp Nou for the upcoming season, effectively ruling out a summer switch to Serie A giants Juventus and the option join his former teammate Dani Alves in Italy.
“I hope that we will have a good season,” he added.
“As always, I start the season with a lot of excitement, I hope that it will be the best yet.”
Mascherano is set face fierce competition for his place in the starting XI under manager Luis Enrique when the new season gets underway next month as Barca have agreed a deal to sign Lyon and France defender Samuel Umtiti and that deal should be done after the Euros.
No defender made more La Liga appearances than Mascherano last season (32) and he averaged five defensive actions per game, helping the Catalan retain the trophy ahead of both Madrid clubs
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