Louis van Gaal has claimed that the result of last year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar was designed to help Lionel Messi finally lift the trophy.

Messi led Argentina to his first and his country's third World Cup triumph in December 2022, as the star forward scored twice in the final to help the South American nation beat France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium.

The 36-year-old had also helped Argentina to defeat the Netherlands, then managed by van Gaal, in the quarter-finals, as he scored in normal time before guiding his country to a 4-3 shoot-out victory.

Van Gaal, who resigned as head coach following the Netherlands' World Cup exit, believed that the game against the Dutch was 'premeditated' so that Messi could finally land the trophy which had always eluded him during his stellar career.