Lionel Messi declined the Man of the Match award after Argentina threw away a 2-0 lead in their Copa America opener against Paraguay.
The Barcelona star, who scored his country’s second on Saturday night, was so furious at the tournament favourites slipping up that he turned down the prize from CONMEBOL.
It was instead given to Paraguay forward Nelson Haedo Valdez, scorer of the Albirroja’s first goal. Sources inside the South American federation have confirmed to a number of outlets that Messi won’t be fined, as he would have been for missing a press conference.
Messi told reporters in the mixed zone on Saturday night: “We were at fault in that we should have had more of the ball in the second half and controlled the match, not them. It’s maddening to go winning 2-0 and finish with a draw. We should have slowed the match down when they were coming at us.
“Now, we have to think about Uruguay and we know we must win. There’s a lot to improve and this is only the first match, now we’ve got to be calmer than ever.”
