Lionel Messi news: Fan reveals heartwarming meeting with Barcelona captain that made him cry with emotion

What's the story?

A lucky fan has revealed a heartwarming story about meeting Barcelona captain Lionel Messi on Thursday in a post that has since gone viral on social media.

In case you didn't know

Messi has donned the Barcelona jersey for over a decade during which he established himself as a legend not only in the club but in football itself.

The Argentine maestro continues his exploits even at the age of 31, having recently guided the Catalan giants to a consecutive La Liga title. He boasts of having scored 34 league goals this season, thereby topping the goal-scoring charts in Europe. With little competition, he is likely to win a record sixth Golden Shoe later this year.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has helped Barcelona to the semi-finals of the Champions League as well but failed to inspire the team to the finals. The Spanish champions succumbed to a humiliating defeat at Anfield after they squandered their three-goal lead from the first leg against Liverpool.

Individually, Messi still had a scintillating season, with a staggering 48 goals in all competitions and has the opportunity to increase the tally when he plays in the Copa del Rey final later this month.

The heart of the matter

Santiago Alberione, who was lucky to meet Messi on the streets of Castelldefels, has revealed how humble the Argentine superstar was when he was asked for a photo and an autograph.

In an Instagram post, Alberione penned down a long 'thank you' message to the Barcelona captain, while revealing details of the meeting.

The caption, under a picture of Messi and Alberione, translates to, "An unforgettable day for someone who believes in an athlete. If you are anti-Messi, I hope you aren't even reading this."

"Today I fulfilled one of my greatest dreams, I met Lionel Andres Messi. I had the luck to take a photo with him and take a gift home which will be the most symbolic and historic that I could have related to sport."

"The long-awaited moment came in Castelldefels around 09:00."I see this short guy with his weird shorts crossing the road and coming over to where I was, my heart went to eight beats a second, my throat went dry and the voice went weird when I told myself - here comes the flea, yes, it's Messi!!!!!!"

"Next thing I ask with a lot of respect if I can take a photo with him, apologising for invading his privacy. With a smile on his face, he accepted and said not to worry, that I wasn't annoying him."

"Then he signed my shirt and asked if I was from Cordoba. I responded with another question, asking if it was so obvious that he noticed, with a smile and glassy eyes."

"With a sublime and humble laugh, he said yes. Then I thanked him again and repeated my apologies for annoying him, with a smile he said 'Don't worry, look after yourself' and gave me a hug and a handshake and he went home."

He concluded, "They were approximately 60 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Obviously afterward I cried with emotion, I met the best player of all time (according to my criteria, to avoid debate)."

"Today I fulfilled the dream of mine that few will understand as today I met Messi and today I am the happiest guy in the universe. I love you, thank you for being Argentine."

What's next?

Messi will feature in Barcelona's Copa del Rey final against Valencia on May 25 and help his team win their second trophy of the season.