New Delhi CNN —
A photo gallery of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has become the most popular Instagram post of all time.
The images, which show Messi and other Argentinian players celebrating their 2022 World Cup win, have garnered over 67 million likes on the social media platform within hours of their release.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said on Tuesday that Messi’s post is “now the most popular in Instagram history”.
In a sensational final on Sunday, Argentina won the World Cup after beating France in Qatar. It was the crowning glory for team captain Messi, who said it was the final World Cup game of his remarkable career.
He scored two goals in the final and was awarded the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.
Before Messi’s post, the most popular photo on Instagram was an ordinary brown egg. It was released in 2019 and has over 57 million likes, beating reality star and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner’s previous record.
On Tuesday, Argentina’s world champions arrived in jubilant Buenos Aires as millions of people lined the streets to celebrate the return of their champion. Messi was the first to step off the plane and held up the golden trophy, followed by his triumphant team on a red carpet at the airport.
The triumph in Doha was Argentina’s third World Cup win and first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the team to victory in Mexico.