RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 10: Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the final of Copa America Brazil 2021 between Brazil and Argentina at Maracana Stadium on July 10, 2021 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

Lionel Messi Tops Cristiano Ronaldo for Most-liked Sports Photo in Instagram History

Rob GoldbergJul 18, 2021

A photo of Lionel Messi with the Copa America trophy is now the most-liked sports photo in Instagram history, per Adriana Garcia of ESPN.

The Barcelona star posted the photo on his account last Sunday after Argentina's victory over Brazil in the Copa American finals. It gave Messi the first major trophy of his international career.

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"What a beautiful madness! This is unbelievable!" Messi wrote in the caption (translated by Garcia). "Thank you, God! We are the champions."

Fans have responded in a big way, with the post now topping 20 million likes.

It breaks the previous mark of most likes for an Instagram post, previously held by rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar has more than 19.8 million likes for his post honoring the late Diego Maradona in November 2020:

Ronaldo is the most popular individual account on Instagram with more than 315 million followers, but Messi's fans still showed their appreciation for a big moment in the player's career.