Lionel Messi claims most-liked post on Instagram with his World Cup celebrations slideshow
The legendary footballer’s World Cup celebration managed to become the most liked post on Instagram. He posted a slideshow of him and his teammates celebrating after winning the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. At the time of writing this article, that post stood at 68.5 million likes. That is way, way more than the previous record-holder, a stock photo of an egg (yes, you read it right). That post was claimed in 2019, and it currently has 57.7 million likes. This change surprised no one, though. The vast majority of the top 20 Instagram posts come from footballers, and considering the major success of winning the world cup is for Messi, this was to be expected.
Messi has the second most-followed account on Instagram
Lionel Messi has the second most-followed account on Instagram. He’s second only to his old rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi has 405 million followers at the moment, while Cristiano Ronaldo has 520 million. So, considering how popular Instagram accounts of footballers are, the success of winning the World Cup, and the fact this is Lionel Messi we’re talking about, breaking this record is not surprising at all. Messi is currently 35, and this was likely his last chance of claiming the coveted trophy. The World Cup is hosted every four years, and by the time the next comes around, he’ll be 39 years old.
World Cup trophy was the only one missing from Messi’s records
World Cup was the only trophy that was missing for Messi, basically. He won everything else there is to win out there, including seven Ballon d’Or awards for the best footballer. The World Cup in Qatar raised quite a few eyebrows due to human rights issues, and various other things, before it even began. Many people wondered why it’s being hosted by Qatar, as this is the first winter World Cup. Add questionable refereeing to that, and you have a recipe for controversy, basically. Argentina will have fond memories of this World Cup, though, as will Messi.
