The Socceroos players did not let their Round of 16 exit stop them from 'fanboying' Argentina's talisman.
Check it out!
What's the story?
Australian footballers Keanu Baccus, Joel King and Marco Tilio all took their photo opportunity with Argentine great Lionel Messi.
The disappointment of crashing out of the World Cup may have been fresh but the trio couldn't resist to ask the PSG star for a pic, which they all posted on their respective social media pages.
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Another Aussie player proved to be the luckiest on the day as he got himself a shirt from the Albicelestes skipper...
Australians 'fanboy' Messi
Sometimes, footballers show that they're fans too and it was evident with the Durban-born Baccus, King and Tilio asking Messi for a pic after the game.
The Socceroos may have come out empty handed at this year's showpiece, but a number of players will walk away with memories of a lifetime.
As mentioned, the trio cemented this memorable moment with an Instagram post. King posted an emoji of a goat, to signal Messi as the 'Greatest of all time,' while Tilio posted a lengthy message and looked back on his experience at the 2022 FIFA World Cup:
"To be apart of something so special and to have learnt so much. To then meeting my idol growing up and the best player in the world. I’m so grateful and feel blessed"
"Thank you Australia what an experience."
Messi bagged his 789th career goal against the plucky Aussies, and will hope to bring the same energy against the Netherlands who defeated USA, 3-1.
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The Lionel Messi effect. pic.twitter.com/EOsrjfYyRT
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 4, 2022
Messi swaps jerseys with unused sub
In another notable post match moment involving Messi, young Socceroos player Cameron Devlin somehow managed to get the 8-time Ballon d'Or winner to swap jerseys with him.
Devlin, who didn't manage to get onto the pitch for Australia during their World Cup campaign, waited for Messi to receive his Man of the Match award before swapping jerseys and shaking his hand.
Take a look:
Class from Messi ??
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) December 4, 2022
Keeping his promise to give @Socceroos midfielder @cammy_devlin his shirt after the game ??#FIFAWorldCup @Argentinapic.twitter.com/sBjm9AHkKz
Scroll through the gallery to view the three players who took a snap with Messi:
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