What or who can convince Messi to play for Argentina again?

To establish what or who can convince Messi to come back it's important to list the (primary, at least) reasons behind his decision to retire:

- The Argentina Football Association (AFA) currently has no president. Since Julio Grondona died in 2014, Luis Segura has been provisionally in charge.

- FIFA have become involved in order to oversee the running of the committee after a scandalous attempt at electing a president.

- The planning for the Rio 2016 Olympics has been poor. In early July 2016 Argentine Olympic Committee president Gerardo Werthein stated on Radio Mitre that Argentina have a 50% chance of not even making it to Rio, saying it was an “embarrassment” for the country. A few days later the 18-man squad was announced, to be coached by Julio Olarticoechea.

- The AFA is bankrupt. Planning for players facilities was criticised, particularly with flight delays, food and equipment. Several U20 players are unable to join the team due to funding. Tata Martino resigned as manager of the national team on July 5 2016 and hadn't been paid in over 7 months.

The tension and uncertainty surrounding the state of the AFA had been building for years (after Grondona’s death the snowball picked up pace) and Lionel Messi’s retirement brought huge attention to the situation and more details emerged. Prior to the 2016 Copa América final, Messi also called the AFA “a disaster” due to the planning of Argentina’s transport during the tournament. This raised eyebrows, particularly as Messi rarely speaks out either on social media or in interviews.

For Messi to come back I believe there would have to be major changes (or at least promises and some activity to fulfil those) to the federation; it would have to be overhauled. Another factor may be the qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup and integration of new blood. Messi has “been there, done that” in qualifying campaigns, the CONMEBOL qualifying campaign is a gruelling and physically demanding one due to travel, conditions and style of play and as well as that, a new generation of players have to be tried and tested. The “1987–1988” players won't - or shouldn't - be the only focus given that the next World Cup is in two years.

The cycle of players that brought them to the 2014 World Cup final and 2015 & 2016 Copa América finals are reaching their end, internationally, now. There are young players that many wanted brought to the Cententario this summer, like Dybala for one, but weren't and now it finally seems that the next manager’s hands will be forced to integrate the younger generation in preparation for the 2018 World Cup.

Lionel Messi knows his limits and his motivations. In the past he has mentioned that when he stops enjoying football he will stop playing football. Javier Mascherano, after the 2015 Copa América defeat, said: “I wanted to enjoy wearing the shirt, all it does is make me suffer. Maybe I'm bad luck,” and I think Messi might share that sentiment, particularly with higher pressure on him. Ultimately, only he himself can decide whether/when to return the national side, but a few significant steps towards change within the AFA and with regard to integration of the “1993–1995” players will help anyone who wants to convince Lionel Messi to return.