Lionel Messi showed Louis van Gaal no mercy during and after Argentina v Netherlands

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·10 December 2022

Lionel Messi showed Louis van Gaal no mercy during and after Argentina v Netherlands

Lionel Messi showed no mercy to Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal after Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals on Friday night.

Messi produced another scintillating performance against Van Gaal’s side, setting up Nahuel Molina with a wonderful assist in the first half before scoring his fourth goal of the tournament from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute.

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Wout Weghorst stunned Argentina with a dramatic late brace as the game went to extra-time, but the South American nation eventually progressed following a penalty shoot-out.

Messi went over to Van Gaal at full-time

Footage has emerged showing Messi went straight over to Van Gaal after the final whistle and made a gesture towards the former Barcelona and Manchester United head coach.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has arguably been the standout performer in Qatar so far, appeared to be suggesting than Van Gaal had been talking too much.

Legendary midfielder Edgar Davids, Van Gaal’s assistant, was also on the scene and tried to calm down the revered forward by putting his arm around him.

Video: Messi’s celebration towards Netherlands bench

Meanwhile, it’s also emerged that Messi celebrated towards the Dutch bench after scoring his penalty, cupping his ears while standing still.

Watch that clip here:

What did Messi say about Van Gaal?

Per Sky Sports, Messi also took a pop at Van Gaal during his post-match interview.

The 35-year-old said: “Van Gaal says that they play good football, but what he did was put on tall people and hit long balls.”

He also hit out at Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz, adding: “I don’t want to talk about the referee because you can’t be honest. If you talk they sanction you, FIFA must think about it, they can’t put a referee like that for these instances, they can’t put a referee who isn’t up to the task.”

What did Van Gaal say about Messi?

In the build-up to Friday’s quarter-final, Van Gaal told Dutch publication NOS: “Messi is indeed the most dangerous player who creates the most chances and also makes them himself.

“But on the other hand he does not play much with the opponent when he has possession of the ball. That is also where our chances lie.”