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Lionel Messi's national team colleague Angel Di Maria reacted with a laughing emoji to Louis van Gaal's claim that the FIFA World Cup was rigged in the favor of the Barcelona legend.
It's no surprise that the 35-year-old winger came out in support of a man with whom he's shared the pitch on 105 occasions for Argentina. Di Maria's response comes soon after the former Manchester United boss' questionable comments. Addressing the World Cup victory, van Gaal said (via GOAL):
"I don't really want to say much about it. When you see how Argentina gets the goals and how we get the goals, and how some Argentina players overstepped the mark and were not punished, then I think it was a premeditated game."
"I mean everything I say. That Messi should become world champion? I think so, yes."
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's nation defeated van Gaal's Netherlands in the quarter-final of the tournament. The Dutch completed a late comeback after going two goals down. Following Wout Weghorst's brace and with the game tied at 2-2, Messi and company triumphed over their opposition on penalties.
Di Maria played a crucial role in the South American nation's World Cup success. Messi netted twice while the former Manchester United man scored once to help his side to three goals in the final.
With the scoreline level at 3-3 after Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick, the game proceeded to penalties, where Argentina completed a 4-2 win.
Virgil van Dijk disagrees with former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal over Lionel Messi World Cup comments
Liverpool centre-half Virgil van Dijk disagreed with former national team coach Louis van Gaal's comments about the FIFA World Cup being rigged to benefit Lionel Messi and Argentina.
The Netherlands national team skipper, who has 57 caps for his country, dismissed van Gaal's comments and said (via GOAL):
"I heard it this morning, indeed. And that's actually it. It is, of course, his opinion. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. I do not share the same opinion."
Van Dijk missed his spot kick for the Netherlands' in their penalty shootout against Argentina during the quarter-final of the World Cup. Unfortunately for him, that match marked the end of his journey in the world's biggest international football tournament for that year.
