Lionel Messi has described being ‘very happy’ at being back in the Argentina side after reversing his decision to retire.

Messi announced his retirement from the international game in June after his country’s Copa America final defeat to Chile and made his return yesterday, by scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory over Uruguay.

“When I spoke to (new Argentina coach) Eduardo Bauza and my teammates, I had to come back”, Messi explained post-match.

“I’m very happy playing with this team and to be back here again. It is important to start a new winning cycle for this team and our performance was impressive, especially with a player less (after Paulo Dybala’s red card). The final defeat to Chile was a very hard blow but we have to bounce back and keep winning matches.”