Hopeful Lionel Messi keen to end Argentina title drought

TIL Desk Sports/ With Neymar sidelined by an ankle injury, Lionel Messi heads into the Copa America this weekend as the competition’s main attraction but one with a desperate need to end more than a decade of hurt with Argentina.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has one of the most impressive trophy hauls in football history but there is a glaring void when it comes to national team accolades. Four Champions League crowns and 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona are not matched by Argentina success.

And the 31-year-old knows he’s running out of time to rectify that anomaly. “I want to end my career having won something with the national team, or at least try to do so as many times as possible,” he told. Four finals played with Argentina, four defeats, including the last two Copa finals on penalties against Chile.

But the most painful was the 2014 World Cup final to Germany at the iconic Maracana, where Messi will hope to return on July 7 for the Copa title decider.