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Former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has claimed that Lionel Messi winning the World Cup last year might have been planned. He added that the Argentine players were not punished in the match which saw them eliminate his Dutch side.
Argentina were up 2-0 in the quarter-final when the Netherlands made a stunning late comeback to take the game into extra time. There were no goals in the 30 added minutes, and the South American side pulled off the win in the penalty shoot-out.
Speaking to NOS, Van Gaal has remarked that Argentina were helped by the referees as the players were not punished for crossing the line. He added that the FIFA World Cup might have been rigged to help Messi win:
"I don't really want to say much about it. If you see how Argentina gets the goals and how we get the goals and how some of Argentina's players crossed the line and weren't punished, then I think it's all preconceived game.
"I mean everything I say by that. That Messi had to become world champion? I think so, yes."
Lionel Messi went on to guide Argentina to a World Cup win after a dramatic final against France.
Louis van Gaal quit Dutch team after loss to Lionel Messi's Argentina
Louis van Gaal called it quits on his time as the Dutch national team manager soon after the loss to Argentina. The quarter-final loss, which saw Lionel Messi celebrate in front of the former Manchester United manager, was the final time the 72-year-old was in the dugout.
Speaking to the reporters after the match, van Gaal said:
"First and foremost I won't be continuing. I only did it for this period of time. This was my very last match of my third term as head coach. In that time I coached 20 matches and we didn't lose a single one. I don't know how many matches we won, but you can Google 'Louis van Gaal, Dutch team' and see the goal difference for yourself."
He added:
"I look back on it in a very positive way. With England we were the only team that was unbeaten. I don't think we have been beaten today. It was only a penalty shoot-out. What I'm leaving behind is a great group."
Van Gaal managed the Netherlands in 63 matches and won 41 games. He had lost just six times during his stints as the national team manager, with two of them coming against Lionel Messi's Argentina at the 2022 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup.
