‘I didn’t like what I did’: Lionel Messi opens up on his one World Cup regret
Lionel Messi has opened up on the one thing he regrets from Argentina’s successful 2022 World Cup campaign.
Lionel Messi has opened up on his sole regret from Argentina’s victorious World Cup campaign, expressing his remorse over the ugly scenes that unfolded in their quarterfinal win over the Netherlands.
The Paris Saint-Germain star celebrated his penalty in the 73rd minute of the game by running over to Netherlands manager Louis Van Gaal and cupping his hands to his ears.
Van Gaal had said ahead of the match that Messi “does not play much with the opponent when he has possession of the ball”, suggesting that the Argentinian did little to help his teammates in defence.
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Van Gaal also said that in the 2014 World Cup semi-final, the last World Cup meeting of the two nations, Messi “didn’t touch a ball”.
Messi told reporters after the match that he felt “disrespected” by the decorated coach’s remarks.
“I don’t like talk like that before matches,” he said.
“He shouldn’t have spoken in the way that he did.”
The clash between the two World Cup heavyweights saw tensions boil over, with defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes at one point blasting the ball in the direction of the Dutch bench, before Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk knocked him to the ground.
Messi himself also reportedly shouted at Dutch goalscorer Wout Weghourst during a post-game interview: “What are you looking at fool?
“Get back there.”
More than a month after Argentina’s eventual victory at the World Cup, Messi has opened up on the ugly scenes that marred his first World Cup in five attempts.
“I didn’t like what I did, I didn’t like what happened after,” he said.
“These are moments of nervousness and everything happens so quickly.
“People react the way they react.”
In the rest of the interview, Messi said he was picked by the World Cup itself to be lifted.
“The cup called out to me, it told me: come and grab me, now you can touch me,” Messi told the Argentine Urbana Play radio station.
“I saw it sparkling in that beautiful stadium and I didn’t hesitate” to kiss it, he added.
Messi finally lifted the trophy in his fifth and final World Cup, having lost in the 2014 final to Germany.
He also played in three losing Copa America finals before finally clinching that trophy in 2021.
“After so much suffering and lost finals, God kept it for me,” he said.
He became the first Argentina captain since Diego Maradona in 1986 to lift the World Cup.
“I would have liked Maradona to hand me the cup, so he could at least see Argentina champions.”
Maradona died of a heart attack two years ago.
“From up above he gave me strength, as did so many people who love me,” said Messi.
Speculation as to when the four-time Champions League winner will hang up the boots is rife, now that the one trophy that has always eluded him has been secured.
He admitted that the end was close after a glory-laden career that saw him also win 10 La Liga crowns with Barcelona, a Ligue 1 trophy with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Ballon d’Or a record seven times.
“That’s it, there’s nothing left, I’ve achieved everything with the national team, with Barcelona, individually,” he said.
With AFP
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