Barcelona star Lionel Messi has given a snappy interview with TyC Sports over his relationship with Argentina fans.

Messi admits criticism of his national team form hurts.

"We have a rough time in the international team. It irritates me when they say 'players should show some b***s', and 'they aren't proud to wear the shirt'. We got to the World Cup and Copa América finals, and people act as if we did nothing. We didn't win, but we did get to the final. We didn't lose in the round of 16," snapped Messi.

When asked which criticisms upset him most, the Barcelona star talked of those who say the players aren't proud to wear the shirt, or don't run enough.

"Football is not just about showing some b***s. We want to win more than anyone else; we want to win trophies and be able to celebrate. But in a football match a lot of different situations crop up. We lost the World Cup final to Germany, who also have good players, even though we had the better chances," said Messi.

As for the flak he gets from fans for not singing the national anthem, he says it has never bothered him. And he added with a smile, "Once they started moaning about it, I started doing it on purpose. Whether you sing or not isn't going to change anything. I think it's a load of nonsense."