Messi Used A ‘Fake’ World Cup Trophy In His Instagram Post Which Broke World Record

Lionel Messi’s record-breaking Instagram post after Argentina won the World Cup is allegedly a ‘fake’ trophy according to reports.

Recall that Messi shared several images from the celebrations on the Lusail Stadium turf later in the evening, which quickly overtook an egg to become Instagram’s most-liked post.

It’s now been claimed the trophy Messi and his teammates were showing off was a copy. FIFA removed the original cup shortly after the trophy lift, which is standard protocol.

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Argentina’s players were focused on celebrating, failing to notice the replica trophy. Angel Di Maria was the first to pick up on it not being real. He then informed Messi, who as captain was tasked with leading the celebrations.

According to reports, the trophy was actually made by an Argentine couple named Manuel and Paula.

Both wanted the trophy to be signed by the La Albiceleste squad during their stay in the Middle East. How did it end up on the pitch?

They told El Pais: “The idea was that the players could sign it, but in the end the cup entered the field of play three times. The first one was taken by a relative of (Leandro) Paredes, and he signed it.

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“There I yelled at a couple of players ‘if you see the cup that Paredes has, it’s ours’, and in the end Lautaro Martínez brought it, who also signed it. FIFA personnel came there and asked us to confirm that it was not the original.”

Messi returned to PSG training on Wednesday after missing their initial return to action.

The 35-year-old made his return to Paris St Germain’s training facility Camp des Loges on Wednesday morning after achieving his lifelong goal of becoming world champion with Argentina in Qatar. He was by PSG teammates with a guard of honor.