- Lionel Messi overtook longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to have the most-liked athlete Instagram post.
- The Barcelona captain shared an image of him hugging the Copa America trophy after his country's success.
- The image has been liked more than 20 million times, beating the previous 19.8 million record.
Lionel Messi overtook Cristiano Ronaldo to become the owner of the most-liked Instagram post by an athlete.
The picture, showing the Barcelona star hugging the Copa America trophy, has been liked more than 20 million times, beating the 19.8 million record previously held by Ronaldo.
The Argentina captain shared the image having tasted international success for the first time since an Olympic gold medal in 2008.
Messi, who recently agreed to a 50% pay cut to sign a new Barcelona deal, helped Argentina to a 1-0 win in the Copa America final, the team's first success in the tournament for 23 years.
"What a beautiful madness! This is unbelievable! Thank you, God! We are the champions!" — the six-time Ballon d'Or winner said alongside the image.
Cristiano Ronaldo's record post was a tribute to Diego Maradona in November 2020 soon after the Argentine legend died from a cardiac arrest.
Ronaldo and Messi have dominated international and club soccer for the past decade, and are consistently vying for new records as they push to be considered the greatest player of all time.
In June, for example, Ronaldo equaled the record for most international goals by a men's soccer player with 109, a figure matched only by Iran's Ali Daei.