Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi claims his fans’ desire to see him with the World Cup trophy helped him break Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram record.
Lionel Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists to help Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar last month. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo scored only a penalty in the group stage and failed to prevent Portugal from being eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Messi’s picture of lifting the World Cup became the most liked post on Instagram. The PSG man surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo, who previously held the record for the most liked Instagram post by an athlete.
Speaking to Argentinian outlet Infobae, Messi explained how the post has garnered over 75 million likes and become the most liked image on Instagram.
“I didn’t ask for that either, because I didn’t ask to be the most liked photo, far from it. But hey, it’s here, Messi said.
“It kind of shows how much people wanted to see me with that trophy. I think that photo got to people. It is true that I could read very few comments. It’s very difficult. I had a million messages and ended up being blocked. It was crazy,” he added.
Before the Barcelona legend entered the fray with the wrecking ball, Cristiano Ronaldo’s picture with Messi for the Louis Vuitton ad was the athlete’s most liked post. The photo, which was posted on November 19, 2022, has so far garnered 43.2 million likes.
Lionel Messi revealed why he kissed the World Cup before lifting it
Lionel Messi fell short in the 2014 World Cup final and Germany’s Mario Gotze stole the trophy with a stunning extra-time strike. In the 2022 final, Messi took matters into his own hands, making sure he wasn’t left heartbroken a second time.
Argentina won the game 4-2 on penalties after it ended 3-3 at the end of extra time. Messi scored twice before converting a penalty in the shootout.
Before finally lifting the coveted trophy, Messi paused to kiss it. Speaking to Infobae, Messi admitted that he “should” have done it after waiting so long.
“The World Cup was calling me. He told me ‘Here I am, come and grab me, now you can touch me,'” Lionel Messi said.
“I saw him shining there, he stood out in that beautiful stadium and I didn’t think about it, I went to kiss him because I passed him. I needed it,” he added.
Messi also won the Ballon d’Or in Qatar, becoming the first player to win the prestigious award twice (first in 2014).