"It's going to be difficult for me to stay with the national team." That's Leandro Paredes, 32, confronting what the 2026 World Cup final actually cost him — not just the trophy, but potentially the rest of his international career.
Paredes received a 10-match suspension in August after shoving Spain's Gavi to the ground at the final whistle as the champions' substitutes rushed the pitch in celebration. He's also facing three assault charges and a $90,000 fine. Teammate Nahuel Molina got two charges and the same fine. It was ugly, and FIFA didn't look away.
Two blows, one decision
The ban is one thing. Lionel Messi's retirement is another. Paredes told Argentine media on Tuesday that both are weighing on him equally. "Because of the suspension as well, because of Leo's decision," he said. "It's going to be difficult for everything to carry on as before."
He hasn't spoken to coach Lionel Scaloni yet. That conversation, when it happens, will likely be the one that decides it.
The emotional weight of Messi's absence is real. Paredes said the squad had sensed the final would be Messi's last match, but "even so, we weren't prepared for that because of what he means to us." When the player who defines your team's entire identity walks away at the same moment you're staring down a lengthy ban, the motivation to grind through a rebuilding era becomes a serious question.
What this means for Argentina's rebuild
Scaloni now faces the prospect of losing another experienced midfielder from a generation that delivered back-to-back Copa Américas and a World Cup. Argentina's squad depth in the middle of the park was already going to be tested in the post-Messi era. Paredes walking away would deepen that problem faster than anyone anticipated.
For the betting market, Argentina's odds in any near-term tournament will be recalibrating around a team that is structurally different to the one that dominated the last four years. Less experienced, less cohesive, and still processing a World Cup final defeat in the most chaotic circumstances possible.
Paredes put it plainly: "Leo's legacy will live on forever... we weren't prepared." Neither, it seems, is the rest of the squad.
