Arlington (Texas): Argentina striker Sergio Aguero dismissed suggestions that teammate and captain Lionel Messi is considering retirement from international football.

The Barcelona star received his fair share of criticism in his native country throughout his career and it has increased after they lost both the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 Copa America final.

Aguero made it clear Messi will continue to represent Argentina for the foreseeable future.

“When all these rumours about Messi potentially retiring from the national team emerged, I asked him straight up whether he was no longer coming over. He told me that people were making things up again,” Aguero was quoted as saying by tycsports.com on Monday.

“Messi is calm and relaxed. He will continue to show up for the national team and play for Argentina. He always does his utmost for the team,” he said.

The 27-year-old said that people should judge him and remember what good things the captain has done before criticising him.

“Leo is always in the spotlights and people forget all the good things he has done. I’m not talking about just now, but they have been saying things about him that are not true for a while,” Aguero said.