Former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has sparked controversy following his comments on Lionel Messi’s historic 2022 World Cup win.
The former coach shared how he thinks the Qatar World Cup was staged to award Lionel Messi the World Cup title in a recent interview with Dutch channel NOS.
Louis van Gaal shared his thoughts on the World Cup, “I don’t really want to say much about it. If you see how Argentina gets the goals, 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.”
😳🏆 Van Gaal on Holland-Argentina:
“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… pic.twitter.com/rlQQOf3bFG
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 4, 2023
He further added, “I mean everything I say by that. That Messi had to become world champion? I think so, yes.”
Van Gaal’s team came close to playing in the World Cup finals; however, they were knocked out of the tournament by Argentina in the thrilling quarterfinals, which they lost on penalties.
The former Barcelona player then went on to lead his team to win their first World Cup since 1986 after they defeated former World Champions France on penalties in the final. Thus adding another title to the list of Lionel Messi’s achievements in his incredible career.
Louis van Gaal chose Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in the GOAT debate
The former Manchester United coach once sided with Cristiano Ronaldo over Messi when asked about who he thought was better in the game. The manager believes that the Portuguese is a more team-oriented player than the World Cup winner, who he believes is more of an individual player.
While talking to Spanish radio station Onda Cero, Louis van Gaal shared, “And the big question, Messi or Cristiano? The best players of this period are Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Choosing between them is difficult.”
“Ronaldo has more results than Messi in titles. Messi has more individual awards, but Ronaldo is more of a team player.”
Luis Van Gaal when he was asked about Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi 👀 pic.twitter.com/YW90GYEMcn
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) September 5, 2023
He further continued, “So you have to choose, I’m more of a team coach than an individual player. Messi may be the best football player, but you have to play as a team.”
Both Ronaldo and Messi have won multiple individual awards as well as club titles and are arguably two of the best players in the world. The former PSG player holds the record of winning seven Ballon d’Or awards to date, with Ronaldo coming in second with the record of five Ballon d’Or awards decorating his trophy cabinet.