Riquelme: Lionel Messi should help choose Argentina coach

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino stepped down following Argentina’s penalty shootout loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final.

According to reports, the Argentina Football Federation are considering a part-time national coach, with the likes of Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Sevilla’s Jorge Sampaoli all earmarked for the role.

But former attacking midfielder Riquelme believes Messi should have a hand in selecting the new manager, despite the Barcelona forward retiring from international duty following the loss to Chile.

"In my humble opinion, they should ask Messi who he wants as coach of Argentina," the 38-year-old said. "The coach should put the team together with Messi, make sure he is happy because he is the only one who can lead us to victory."

"The coach should even be asking him who he [Messi] wants on the team," Riquelme added.

"The issue here is that he must feel at home. The more comfortable he feels, the bigger lead he will give us and that will be better for the team.

“This is the national team of Argentina we are talking about here, not a club that plays on Sundays. Here they will just have three days to prepare. He must feel comfortable because we don't have a lot of time to prepare.”