The mystery behind Lionel Messi’s celebration vs Netherlands

In a few hours, Lionel Messi will lead his Argentina side on the pitch as they get set to take on Croatia in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Following a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their first match of the tournament, La Albiceleste have bounced back strongly and made it to the final-four.

Along the way, Argentina beat Mexico, Poland and Australia before they squared up against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals last week.

In what was a hotly-contested affair, Argentina prevailed through penalty shootouts after the game had ended 2-2.

One of the most iconic images from Argentina’s win over the Netherlands that will remain etched in the fans’ memories for a long time was Messi celebrating in front of the Dutch dugout with his hands over his ears.

The 35-year-old found the back of the net from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute before pulling off this celebration right in front of the Netherlands’ manager, Louis van Gaal.

Now Mundo Deportivo has revealed the mystery behind Messi’s celebration. As per the report, the Argentine’s actions after he scored were a message to van Gaal over his mistreatment of former Barcelona and Argentina star Juan Roman Riquelme.

The Blaugrana signed Riquelme from Boca Juniors in 2002 when van Gaal was in charge of the first team at Camp Nou.

However, soon after his arrival Riquelme was given a dressing down by the Dutch tactician who said he did not want to sign him as he did little to help the team off the ball.

“You are the best in the world with the ball at your feet, but when you don’t have it, we play with one less.”

Van Gaal then proceeded to play Riquelme out of his preferred positions on several occasions, which impacted his displays.

Ahead of the showdown between Argentina and the Netherlands, the former Barcelona manager had made similar remarks against Messi as well.

And that is why the Argentina captain pulled out the celebration made popular by Riquelme after he found the back of the net against Oranje last week.