If Messi retires, so will Aguero - father

Sergio Aguero's father claimed the Manchester City star could follow Lionel Messi into international retirement should the Argentina captain stand by his decision to walk away from the national team.

Messi dropped a bombshell after Argentina's penalty shoot-out loss to Chile in the final of the Copa America Centenario last month, publicly announcing his intention to retire from international football.

The 113-cap attacker missed the first penalty of the shoot-out as he suffered a third consecutive defeat in a major tournament final, and fourth in total.

Minutes after Messi stunned the football world, Aguero claimed a number of Argentina players were considering their futures.

And Aguero's father, Leonel del Castillo, insisted his son is facing an uncertain international future after coach Gerardo Martino resigned.

"If Leo goes, I believe Sergio will go also. They'll leave room for new players," Del Castillo told radio station Paladar Rojo.

"The reporters say that they [players] have completed a cycle, so I guess they should open the door for the next generation."

Aguero has amassed 77 caps for Argentina since debuting in 2006.

The 28-year-old, though, only started one match at the Copa America, scoring once as Argentina suffered a 4-2 loss to Chile on penalties.

Del Castillo added: "The criticism hurts Sergio. The players are coming from the season in Europe, they are giving up their vacation, they are not being paid because the AFA [Argentine Football Association] is not paying them and their travel arrangements have not been done properly.

"They had to leave at 2am after waiting three to four hours in an airport."