Lionel Messi was visibly annoyed after a pitch invader grabbed him by the neck in a bid to take a selfie with the football star during the Ecuador-Argentina World Cup qualifier this week.
In a video making the rounds on social media, the fan can be seen running towards the Argentine ace, yelling "Messi, Messi" and hugging him and grabbing him by the neck. Confused and irritated, Messi pushes him away.
Following the incident, the pitch invader took to Instagram* to show off his picture as well as a brief video with the "best player of all time" and even wrote a long note praising Messi.
"You only live once and once is enough for me because I met the greatest player of all time. Mi querido @leomessi, thank you for all the happy moments you have given me throughout the years with your beautiful football. I love you and this game. #Messi".
The fan was wearing an Ecuador jersey and was soon taken off the pitch by security guards.
The match, played at the Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, was the last qualifying match for Argentina. It has already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 along with Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador.
This is the second security breach incident during a match. Recently, a similar incident happened with Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah during a game against Senegal.
*Instagram is banned in Russia over extremist activity.