January 31 – Lionel Messi says he regrets the exchanges he had with the Netherlands team during their controversial World Cup quarter-final in Qatar.
Messi gave his first interview since lifting the trophy to radio Urbana Play of Buenos Aires and spoke about the feisty clash with the Dutch which Argentina won in a penalty shootout. A record 17 yellow cards were issued, including one to Messi for dissent.
When Messi scored from the penalty spot in regular time, he stood in front of Dutch coach Louis van Gaal and cupped both hands to his ears. After the game, he gesticulated to the Dutch bench and insulted striker Wout Weghorst.
“I don’t like what I did, I don’t like what happened afterwards,” Messi said. “These are moments of a lot of tension, a lot of nerves. It is very quick and people react the way they react. Nothing was planned, it just happened.”
following Argentina’s first World Cup triumph since 1986, Messi says “everything changed for me. I wished that so much in my career and, at the end, it came.”
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