Lionel Messi was reportedly left furious after one of his Argentina teammates made a comment about his wife Antonela Roccuzzo during the World Cup.
After experiencing a slew of disappointments on the international stage, Messi finally ended his wait for a World Cup – completing football as Argentina went all the way in Qatar.
Messi scored seven goals, including twice in the final against France, as Argentina won the prize for the first time since 1986.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has said it was the greatest moment of his glittering career but there was an unsavoury instance during the tournament.
A panelist on the ‘A La Tarde’ show broadcasted on Tartu TV claims that after one of Argentina’s games, while the team was celebrating, Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez made a remark about Messi’s other wife and understandably he was not happy.
Image: Getty
“This man is a daring man,” the panelist said, as per MARCA.
“Locker room, I don’t know exactly in which match, if it was in the match against the Netherlands.
“Everyone is happy because they passed, everyone in the locker room starts to sing. “What does Alejandro El Papu say? ‘Hand over Antonela!’” the panelist said. “Imagine Messi’s laser eyes … Immediate red card!”
Gomez played twice at the showpiece, making appearances against Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Image: Getty
His last outing for his country was over a year ago and in October, new club Monza announced that he failed an anti-doping test.
It’s alleged the former Atalanta man tested positive for terbutaline and would be required to serve a two-year ban.
In response, Gomez gave his side of the story and said he had accidentally taken his son’s cough syrup and instructed his lawyers to look into the case.
“Not only have I always rigorously respected all the rules, but I have also stood up as a strong defender of clean sport and sportsmanship, condemning categorically any forms of doping. I have never intended to, and I will never, resort to a banned practice,” Gomez wrote on Instagram.
“The alleged offense originates from the presence of Terbutaline in my system, after I accidentally ingested it in a spoonful of my little son’s cough syrup. I have asked my lawyers to look into the matter as I believe the disciplinary case was not treated according to the rules.”
Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Barcelona, Football World Cup
Josh Lawless ADVERT ADVERT ADVERT
Lionel Messi admits he felt like an ‘idiot’ doing the one celebration he regrets most
Chris Byfield
Published 15:38, 04 December 2023 GMT
| Last updated 15:41, 04 December 2023 GMT
Lionel Messi admitted he felt like an idiot for one of his goal celebrations.
If anyone has had enough practice celebrating goals it’s Messi. The pint-sized Argentine has scored 721 club goals across 889 appearances, as well as a record 106 goals for Argentina.
But Messi revealed there is one celebration he deeply regrets. After scoring a penalty against the Netherlands in last year’s Qatar World Cup, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner ostentatiously put his hands to his ears as a means of riling up Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal.
Van Gaal had made comments about Messi’s performances in the build-up to the quarter-final, specifically his contribution off the ball.
But Messi has since admitted that he immediately regretted cupping his ears to the Dutch boss due to a fear Argentina would go on to lose the tie.
“I came up with the ‘Topo Gigio’ [named in honour of a cartoon character, a goal celebration in which a player puts his hands to his ears as a sign of defying someone] right there and I automatically regretted it,” the 36-year-old told ESPN.
“As soon as I did it I thought: ‘What an idiot. They can still tie it.’ These things usually happen.”
And that is exactly what happened, with Wout Weghorst netting two goals after Messi’s penalty to level proceedings.
But despite the shift in momentum, Argentina went on to beat the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties.
After the game, Messi said of the incident: “‘I feel disrespected by Van Gaal after his pre-game comments and some Dutch players spoke too much during the game.”
While Argentina went on to win the World Cup, with Messi being named player of the tournament, then Netherlands boss Van Gaal has not let go of how the game ended, groundlessly claiming the World Cup was rigged.
The Dutchman told reporters at the time via the Mirror: “I do not really want to say much about it.
“When you see how Argentina scored their goals and how we scored our goals, and how some Argentina players overstepped the mark and were not punished, then I think it was all a premeditated game.”