Lionel Messi is not a particularly bloody player. He only took two red cards throughout his career, one with Argentina (during his very first selection), another with FC Barcelona. However, it sometimes happens that the octuple gold balloon. It happened last year, on December 9, 2022, after the quarterfinals of the World Cup between Argentina and the Netherlands.
The meeting had been crazy: the Oranje returned from 0-2 to 2-2 in a few minutes thanks to a double of Wout Weghorst, and the Albiceleste had to go through the penalty shootout. The match had also been electric, with a tension fed by certain pre-match statements, and a few gestures on the field, such as this balloon struck by Leandro PARDES in the direction of the Dutch bench, which had caused a scuffle.
“What are you looking at, silly?” “”
In the corridors, after the match, there was then this scene which became legendary. In the midst of an interview with an Argentinian TV, Messi had dropped an insult towards Weghorst, who stared at him a few meters. “” What are you looking at, foolish? What are you looking at? “, replied the Argentine captain (“What are you looking at, silly?” “”and VO).
After receiving his last Ballon d’Or, Messi had returned to this event, from which he did not draw great pride. “The previous days, they (the Dutchman) began to make statements and seek us a little, notably the coach (Louis Van Gaal) and the player who appeared at a press conference the day before the meeting (Memphis Depay). And then it was a quarter of the World Cup, a big match, between Argentina and the Netherlands ”Remember Messi.
Messi: “I didn’t like to see me like that”
“There were some strange situations in the game, with some players at their home who had a little-play behavior, especially during the penalty shootout. After this match, we wanted to pass Argentina for the villain in history, but many things happened that evening … In these moments of tension, everyone reacts in their own way, but the rivalry must stop at the limits of the field “continues the captain of Albiceleste.
As for this story with Weghorst, Messi does not pay the pretense. “It is because of everything that happened before and during the match, says Messi. They talked a lot before and some retained my reaction. I admit that I did not like to see myself like that, the way in which I could react, but these are tense moments and it can happen … “
