Former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has stated that the World Cup in Qatar last year was rigged in order to enable Lionel Messi eventually win the title.
Argentina won the World Cup in December 2022, with Messi scoring twice in the final to help his country defeat France 4-2 on penalties at Lusail Stadium.
In the quarter-finals, the 36-year-old attacker defeated the Netherlands, scoring in normal time before leading his side to a 4-3 victory on penalties.
Louis Van Gaal, who resigned as head coach after the Netherlands’ elimination from the World Cup, now claims that the competition was rigged so that Messi could eventually win the world title.
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When asked to reflect on the World Cup in Qatar, he told Dutch outlet NOS: “ 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 all premeditated game.”
Van Gaal was honored for his contributions to Dutch football on Tuesday at the Eredivisie Awards, where he spoke.
After journalists asked the 72-year-old to clarify what he meant, the former boss said: “I mean everything I say. That Messi should become world champion? I think so, yes.”
