Lionel Messi won the World Cup for his country almost three months ago but he is still being showered with love there. Such were the scenes as the Argentine captain was mobbed by his countrymen after leaving a restaurant.
The former Barca star was having dinner in a restaurant in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires on Monday night with given a police escort who helped him get back outside safely after being surrounded by his loyal fans.
The Paris Saint Germain superstar is back in Argentina for the international break. He arrived in the capital with his family on Monday morning. It will be the first time Argentina will play a game since winning the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022.
The World cup winner was the Albiceleste’s best player as he led them to the title scoring seven goals and two in the final against France. The attacking midfielder was given the Golden Ball for his great campaign while the footballer is also the footballing nations’ all time topscorer and has been their hero on multiple occasions. It is no surprise therefore that the Argentine people love the man who brought them their first World Cup since Diego Maradona had done in 1986.
How did Lionel Messi get mobbed by fans?
The Argentine hero had a training session with his international teammates. He along with his family then went to dinner at a local famous restaurant called Don Julio in the district of Palermo in Buenos Aires.
The scenes in Argentina outside a restaurant where Messi was having dinner at 🇦🇷
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 21, 2023
pic.twitter.com/Hlb2q0I59Q
It didn’t take long for news to spread out that the greatest of all time was inside the restaurant and many hundreds of fans besieged the restaurant in order to get a sight of their hero. They kept chanting his name and cheering him. The fans also sang “Muchachos”, which had become viral during the World Cup and was their unofficial anthem for the same tournament.
La Nacion reported that Messi left at 1.45 am after the police came to protect Messi from the overexcited fans. As he was being escorted, many fans reached out to him to grab a hug or handshake, or a photo. He then reached a grey Porsche which he used to go away.
The most surprising is that Messi appeared to be happy at the reception. He was seen smiling like a kid the whole time. Obviously, the Argentine was happy at the love he was being given after being booed by the PSG fans in the last match against Rennes.
😃pic.twitter.com/KVjbapzuXk
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 21, 2023
This wasn’t the first time Messi was mobbed like this. After winning the World Cup, he returned to his native Rosario. He was mobbed by loving fans while arriving in a car. Argentina’s World Cup winning parade was also cut short after concerns about safety issues came up.
Argentina will face Panama on Thursday. The game at Estadio Monumental stadium has reportedly been sold out already. Almost 1.5 million people requested to buy tickets. Such is the love of Argentina’s people for the team that brought them World Cup glory.
