By Ghulam Haider
Lionel Messi has already secured his place as one of the greatest soccer players of all time with Argentina’s World Cup win over France. Now he’s breaking records on social media, too.
The Argentina star’s celebration post on Instagram is now the most-liked post of all time, according to Instagram. It has also surpassed the number of likes on a single post on all other social media apps, including TikTok and YouTube.
Lionel Messi’s Instagram post celebrating his World Cup win has become the most liked post on Instagram. Messi, who captained the Argentina team to victory in Sunday’s final in Qatar, has become the leading character of Argentina’s World Cup narrative.
As of Tuesday, the post, featuring Messi holding up the trophy along with a carousel of other photos his teammates celebrating, had nearly 66 million likes. In the caption, Messi thanks his family and the fans for support.
The social media network also said #Messi and #Argentina were the top trending hashtags globally on the app after Argentina’s World Cup win.
“I dreamed it so many times, I wanted it so much that I still haven’t fallen, I can’t believe it…”
“Thank you very much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us. We demonstrate once again that Argentines when we fight together and united we are capable of achieving what we set out to do. The merit belongs to this group, which is above individualities, it is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the dream of all Argentines… We did it!!!
Messi’s post takes over the top spot from @world_record_egg, which became a meme in 2019 when the anonymous account asked for likes to take over the title of most liked photo on Instagram from Kylie Jenner.
At 35, Messi has likely played in his last World Cup, but the all-star indicated he intends to continue playing for at least a little while longer.
“I love soccer, what I do. I enjoy being part of the national team, the group. I want to enjoy a couple of more matches being a world champion,” he said.
Messi was his country’s inspiration throughout the World Cup tournament in Qatar and scored twice in the championship game against France.
Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world on seven occasions. He has also won the Champions League four times with former club Barcelona, but the World Cup is the biggest prize in the sport.
Many speculate that this World Cup may be the now 35-year-old’s last, as the football legend stated on South American streaming service Star+ in October: “This will be my last World Cup — for sure. The decision has been made. I am counting down the days to the World Cup. There is a bit of anxiety and nerves at the same time.”
But who knows what the taste of victory will bring…
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