Moving away from the football pitch, Lionel Messi achieved another breath-taking feat, after his Copa America triumph photo became the most liked sports photo ever on Instagram, with over 20 million likes.
The Barcelona star ended his international trophy drought as he inspired Argentina to continental glory, after edging rivals Brazil 1-0 in the final.
In the wake of the victory, Messi – who was voted player of the tournament, took to Instagram to celebrate their triumph with a picture of him in the changing room proudly holding the trophy alongside the caption: “What a beautiful madness! This is unbelievable! Thank you, God! We are the champions!”
The photo is also the sixth most-liked in the history of the social network, behind posts from the likes of Billie Eilish, XXXTentacion, Ariana Grande and the world record-breaking photograph of an egg from January 4, 2019
Having experienced so much heartache on the international stage before, it was Angel Di Maria’s first-half strike which proved a matchwinner at the Maracana.
The trophy marked Argentina’s first piece of silverware in 28 years, mainly down to the genius of the Barcelona skipper, who gave an insight into how he was feeling to reporters after the full-time whistle.
“It’s crazy, the happiness I am feeling is not something that could be explained. I’ve left sad before but I knew that at one point it was going to happen,” Messi said.
Meanwhile, Messi has reportedly agreed to a new five-year deal at Barcelona.
