It’s a replica that works. During the celebration of the title of world champions after the final at the World Cup in Qatar won against the Blues, the Argentines did not actually have the right World Cup. Thus, the trophy held up by Leo Messi in front of the Argentine supporters massed in the Lusail stadium on December 18 was a replica. In the euphoria of Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over France in the final, that line found its way onto the pitch and into Messi’s hands.
The Argentine captain paraded the fake for several minutes without realizing that it was not the one given to him by Fifa President Gianni Infantino at the end of the match.
An Argentinian couple behind the story
But then, how could this replica end up on the lawn? It’s the Argentinian daily Clarin who seems to have the answer.
According to the outlet, the imitation Messi was holding was made by an Argentine fan, Paula Zuzulich, who explained: “Before the World Cup, we contacted people who make trophies and it took six months to to make it… The idea was to have him signed by the players, but in the end he was taken down to the pitch three times. First, a member of Paredes’ family signed him. The second time ‘we were asked, she stayed downstairs for 45 minutes, going from player to player.”
It was ultimately Ángel di María who alerted him to the misunderstanding as the Argentine players were still celebrating on the pitch, earning the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner an amused smile.
74 million likes
On Lionel Messi’s Instagram account, the image of the Argentinian with the fake Jules-Rimet trophy garnered more than 74 million “likes”, beating the old record, held by an… egg. In 2019, the photo of this egg published by the “world_record_egg” account thus managed to accumulate more likes than a photo of Kylie Jenner, who was then the most liked publication on Instagram.
Thanks to his Instagram account, which broke a record of likes, Lionel Messi would have received around 10 million euros since his victory in the World Cup. He has completed six sponsored operations since December 18. The fake trophy finally brought luck to the PSG star.