Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, has revealed regretful behaviour during his team’s 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final tie against the Netherlands in Qatar.
Recall that Messi led Argentina to beat the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw.
Messi’s first controversial moment during the encounter was after he scored Argentina’s second goal when he cupped his ears and stood defiantly looking at Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal.
It was a reference to ‘Topo Gigio’, a cartoon mouse that gave Argentina legend Juan Roman Riquelme his nickname.
Riquelme and Van Gaal notoriously didn’t get on while the pair were at Barca, with the former being forced out by the Dutchman.
Speaking to Andy Kusnetzoff in an interview carried by MD, Messi said he did not like his celebration during Argentina’s tie with the Netherlands.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward said, “The truth is that no (I did not prepare it). I did not like it. It came out at the moment and yes, I knew what had been said before the game, what he had said. Some of my teammates told me, ‘did you see what he said’ on purpose.
The former Barcelona captain added, “We got 2-0 and then at the time, I don’t like what I did, what happened later with the ‘off you go, stupid’ [anda pa’ ‘lla bobo]. These are moments of great tension, a lot of anxiousness, everything happens very quickly and you don’t have time to think about anything. Actually, nothing was planned, it happened like that and as I say, it is not an image I like to give off.”
Messi went on to win the Golden Ball award for the best player of the World Cup tournament.