Lionel Messi always travels with Saud Abdulhamid, as the Al-Hilal footballer carries a photo of his memorable moment with the Argentinian legend in his suitcase.
The picture was snapped as Messi helped up the Saudi Arabian national team player from the turf in their World Cup encounter, which Argentina famously lost 2-1.
It would be the only defeat of the tournament for the four-times FIFA World Cup winners and a historic day for the Middle-Eastern nation as they pulled off one of football’s biggest upsets and ended Argentina’s 36-game unbeaten run.
Although Saudi Arabia would later bow out in the group stages after being defeated by Poland and Mexico, it was an iconic moment when the second-lowest ranked side defeated the pre-tournament favourites and eventual winners.
Abdulhamid chose to remember the win in Qatar by choosing the moment football’s greatest player helped him up from the ground and the photo later went viral on social media.
Messi back on international duty
After putting up two assists in his latest outing for Inter Miami, Messi now has scored 11 times and assisted five times in 11 games.
But the Floridian side will need to cope without the biggest name in football as he returns to Argentina to help their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier ties against Ecuador and Bolivia.