Lionel Messi saw red against Chile, which only adds to his disappointing national team career

After playing in back-to-back Copa America finals, Lionel Messi ‘s red card ends frustrating Copa America for Argentina.

Lionel Messi and red cards are not two things that typically cross paths. On Saturday at the Copa America, however, they did exactly that.

While Argentina led Chile 2-0 behind goals from Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala in today’s Copa America third-place play-off game, Messi and Gary Medel both received red cards during a first-half altercation that saw frustration, anger, and fighting breakout.

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Argentina and Chile are common Copa America rivals, Saturday’s match offered both teams a chance at redemption from disappointing losses. Hosts Brazil beat Argentina 2-0, and Messi was not pleased with the referee’s lack of VAR usage in the defeat. Peru ended Chile’s Copa America defense with a 3-0 win on Wednesday.

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With just one goal, Messi’s scoring didn’t help Argentina during this year’s Copa America. Instead of playing for a Copa America title, Messi saw his tournament end with a surprising red card.

Messi’s only previous red card was in his Argentina debut against Hungary in 2005. Medel’s defensive style has led to several red cards throughout his professional and international career.

Despite losing Messi and giving up an Arturo Vidal penalty, Argentina held on to win 2-1 and secure third place. Messi did not even collect Argentina’s third-place medal.

For Messi, goals and beautiful plays are what everyone expects when he appears on the pitch. Against Chile, we saw the dirty side of a player who has repeatedly failed to end Argentina’s 26-year run without winning a major title.