Lionel Messi has one-upped Cristiano Ronaldo once again as he closes in on having the most-liked picture in Instagram's history.
The superstar inspired Argentina to winning the World Cup on Sunday, scoring twice against France. He then scored their first penalty in the shootout that saw them lift the famous trophy for the first time since 1986, a feat Ronaldo has never achieved.
In the aftermath of the win over Les Bleus, Messi posted an emotional message on Instagram, alongside 10 photos of the celebrations and the game. The first picture showed Messi lifting the trophy towards the Argentina fans in attendance at the Lusail Stadium.
Alongside the pictures, Messi penned a heartfelt note to his supporters and his family. He hailed his team-mates as he admitted he had finally realised a life-long dream of his, which was also the only major trophy he has not won.
"CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!! So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don't fall, I can't believe it...... Thank you so much to my family, to all who support me and also to all who believed in us," Messi wrote.
"We prove once again that Argentinians when we fight together and united we are able to achieve what we aim. The merit is of this group, which is above individuals, is the strength of all fighting for the same dream that was also the one of all Argentinians... We did it!!! LET'S GO ARGENTINA DAMN!!!!! We're seeing each other very soon."
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Messi's post has quickly racked up an astonishing amount of 'likes' on the social media platform. At the time of writing, more than 50,500,000 accounts have liked the post, ensuring he is closing in quickly on the record.
That is held by Chris Godfrey, whose photo of an egg in January 2019 has 56.1million likes. He has still surpassed Ronaldo's record for the most-liked post though, with that being his photo alongside Messi playing chess last month.
That post has racked up 41.9m likes since being published, with Messi having now far surpassed it. The Argentina captain has also surpassed 400m followers on Instagram, though Ronaldo is far ahead of him on 519m.
There had been some suggestion that Messi would retire from at least international football if he won the World Cup. But he put those reports to bed after lifting the trophy, insisting he wanted to carry on playing for Argentina.
"Let's go! We are world champions. It's crazy that it has happened this way. I wanted it very much. I knew God was going to give it to me, I sensed it was going to be this. Now to enjoy," Messi said.
"I love football, it's what I do. I enjoy being in the national team and want to continue by experiencing a few more games as a world champion. Obviously I wanted to cap my career with this and I can't ask for anything more."
