In his interview with France Football after the Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi returns to his 2022-2023 season and of course evokes the victory of Argentina in the World Cup. The former Barcelona losted in particular on this tense quarter-final, won at the penalties against the Netherlands, in an electric climate.
“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 ”Summarizes Messi.
“We wanted to pass Argentina for the villain of history …”
“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 “explains the captain of the Albiceleste.
Everything should have stopped after the final whistle, but that was not the case. Messi himself had a verbal altercation in the mixed zone with Wout Weghorst, to whom he launched a sentence (“Qué Miras Bobo?”, “What are you looking at, stupid?”) Having become cult. “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 … “
