On December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi eternalised his greatness on the world stage, lifting the World Cup trophy for Argentina after defeating France on penalties.
Later that day, he uploaded an Instagram photo of himself lifting the World Cup aloft, while on the shoulders of his good friend Sergio Aguero and surrounded by jubilant Argentinian supporters.
As of February 2023, that photo has been liked by over 75 million different people - the most-liked post on Instagram in its history - all eager to show their support for the player widely considered to be the greatest-ever.
However, what if FourFourTwo told you that the trophy in the photo isn't even the real thing: that it's a replica and that Messi's Argentine teammate Angel Di Maria was holding the actual prized possession some 50 yards away in the centre of the pitch?
As journalist Martin Mazur wrote in FourFourTwo: "Aguero had the special task of carrying Messi on his shoulders, while Argentina’s star man held the World Cup – even if it was a replica, Messi would later find out.
"The most-liked Instagram photo of all time? Well, it’s not the real trophy, Di Maria had that in the centre of the pitch. It didn’t really matter – Messi laughed when he found out."
Of course, Messi still managed to get his hands on the trophy plenty of times throughout the proceeding days, even taking the World Cup to bed with him in a room he shared with Aguero, despite the former Manchester City man not even playing professionally anymore.
Other players also part of the team's journey but not in the squad for the tournament made the journey to Qatar and joined in the celebrations.
Mazur wrote: "Messi invited the now retired Sergio Aguero, his room-mate since the 2005 U20 World Cup, to share with him ahead of the final. Players ruled out due to injury, like Giovani Lo Celso, Nico Gonzalez and Joaquin Correa, travelled to support the team and lifted the trophy alongside them."
Messi's post of him holding the World Cup while on Aguero's shoulders is now the most-liked social media post in history - not bad considering it's a fake trophy he's got in his hands. Not that anyone will have noticed.
