Lionel Messi, often hailed as one of the greatest footballers of all time, has captured the hearts of millions around the world with his extraordinary skills, remarkable achievements, and unwavering passion for the game of football. With a mass following on Instagram, the GOAT is no less of a digital star. Apart from a huge fan following, Messi also holds the record for 5 out of 10 most-liked photos on the gram. As he celebrates his birthday today, let us take a moment to reflect on Messi’s awe-inspiring journey and know which 5 photos won him the accolade of being the most liked on Instagram.
Messi and Football
Messi’s love affair with football began at a tender age and prodigious talent quickly became apparent as he excelled in the youth ranks of his local club. Soon after, FC Barcelona recognised his immense potential and offered him a chance to join their prestigious La Masia academy. Messi’s rise to stardom was meteoric as he debuted for Barcelona at the age of 17, becoming the youngest player to don the club’s jersey.
Throughout his illustrious career, Messi shattered numerous records and achieved unparalleled milestones. Messi’s prolific goal-scoring ability is simply unmatched, as he holds the Guinness World record for the most goals scored in a calendar year. His mesmerising dribbling skills, exquisite passing, and clinical finishing have made him a nightmare for defenders across the globe.
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The FIFA World Cup 2022
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has one of the most exciting World Cup seasons of all time. The World Cup was special for it had a list of first and of course, the mesmerising end that it had. While it was for the first time a Middle Eastern Country, Qatar, was hosting the FIFA World Cup, many underdogs teams such as Japan, Morocco, shone in various matches. If was the first time, a team who lost the final also won the same amount of love as the winning team. While Mbappe did not win the trophy for France, he won immense love.
The official FIFA website also calls this World Cup as “ground-breaking” which had “a fairy-tale ending.” Before the final Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the World Cup and this announcement catapulted everyone into supporting Argentina. It was like the whole World was painted in Messi’s jersey and everybody only had one thing on their mind- a win for Argentina, a win for Messi.
The historic win was cemented further when its repercussions were felt on social media as Lionel Messi’s photo became the most like picture in the history of Instagram surpassing ‘the Egg’
Messi- Instagram’s Beloved
Lionel Messi has a solid presence on Instagram with 475 Million people following the football sensation. Apart from having these many followers he also holds many records including having ranked on 5 out of 10 most liked photos. Out of these 5 photos, 4 of these photos are directly or indirectly related to the FIFA World Cup 2022, where Messi can be seen with or around the trophy.
In the 1st position of most liked photos on Instagram is the post that went live soon after Argentina’s historic win. It is a series of 10 pictures which has Messi and the team celebrating their win. The heartwarming pictures have 7,56,57,613 likes as of now, making it the most liked picture on Instagram.
In the third position is Messi’s picture sleeping next to the FIFA World Cup trophy where the caption read “Good Morning”. This picture has 54,811,647 likes.
In the 5th position is the picture posted on 19th December,2022 where Messi is again seen holding the World Cup and in a plane. The picture is liked by 4,20,61,828 people.
On the 7 most liked picture of Instagram is Messi’s carousel post of 4 pictures showing the celebration in Argentina after the dreamy victory. The caption translates, ‘Don’t try to figure it out. ARGENTINA. Through the good and the bad, I LOVE YOU’ This post with 3,45,13,929 likes comes seventh on the list.
On the 9th most liked pictures on Instagram list is Messi’s post along with Ronalado, captured in a deep thought while playing a game of chess. This photoshoot was done by Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton. The picture is liked by 3,29,69,757 people. This same photograph was also shared by Ronaldo on his Instagram account and is the fourth most liked picture of Instagram.
As Lionel Messi celebrates his birthday, it is a fitting time to honour his exceptional journey, unparalleled achievements, and lasting impact on the world of football and outside. As an influential figure on the field, Messi has also conquered the digital realm with equal ease. All these photographs resonated deeply with fans worldwide, garnering an overwhelming number of likes and cementing its position as one of Instagram’s most beloved moments.
