Diego Schwarzstein, the doctor for Lionel Messi, has stated that he doesn’t want Argentina to have any victories at the current FIFA World Cup in Qatar. After winning the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, Messi will be looking to lead his nation to a third trophy in the Middle East.
The South American powerhouse, who entered the World Cup unbeaten in 35 games, are among the best candidates to win the championship in Qatar.
But Messi’s personal doctor has revealed why he wants Argentina to humiliatingly lose at football’s biggest competition.
Messi was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency early in his career, and Schwarzstein treated him; the two have been friends ever since.
He explained that any World Cup victory in Argentina will probably be used as a pretext by the current administration to implement radical changes to the nation.
“As a football fan, I would like Argentina to be champions,” he told The Times. “As an Argentine citizen, as a human being, I would like them to lose all three games and be eliminated in the first round.
“Why? I’m convinced that this obscenely populist government that we have here would use the success of Argentina at the World Cup to cover things up. They could announce the devaluation of the currency on the day that the team play when no one is focused on that.”
In 2014, Messi came within one goal of winning the World Cup. He scored four goals to assist the La Albiceleste reach the final, where they fell to Germany 1-0 in extra time on Mario Gotze’s strike. When France eliminated Argentina in the round of 16 of the 2018 competition, the empyrean Argentine was let down once more.
Argentina Loses Its Opening Match Against Saudi Arabia
At the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Salem Al-magnificent Dawsari’s solo performance helped Saudi Arabia defeat Argentina 2-1 in Group C, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
One of the biggest moments in any World Cup finals was when Al-Dawsari grabbed the ball out of the air, dribbled past two Argentina players, and curled his finish past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
After a contentious VAR decision, Lionel Messi gave one of the tournament favourites the lead from the penalty spot (10), but Saleh Al-Shehri equalized just three minutes into the second half to set up an enormous upset.
Although Argentina’s 36-game winning streak, which had started with a loss to Brazil three years prior, was ended by the outcome, this was the greatest day in Saudi Arabian football history.
“This hurts a lot. We were dreaming of starting the World Cup with a win,” said Messi’s strike partner Lautaro Martinez. “But it’s happened and now we have to train and think forward.
“We lost this game because of our own mistakes, most of all in the second half. There are details that make a difference and we need to correct our mistakes.”