December 18, 2022, changed everything for anyone with a pulse and a screen. We all saw it. The image. That specific foto de Messi con la copa del mundo where he’s being hoisted on the shoulders of Sergio Agüero, clutching the gold trophy like it’s the only thing that matters in the universe. It wasn't just a sports photo. Honestly, it was a cultural reset.
It became the most-liked Instagram post in history, dethroning a literal egg. Think about that for a second. Millions of people, from Tokyo to Buenos Aires, stared at the same pixels and felt the same weirdly intense rush of relief.
The Chaos Behind the Perfect Shot
You’d think a photo that iconic would be meticulously planned. It wasn't. The pitch at Lusail Stadium was absolute madness. Security was basically nonexistent. Family members, former teammates, and random influencers were all over the grass. In the middle of this beautiful disaster, photographer Shaun Botterill captured the frame.
Messi is smiling, eyes bright, holding the 18-carat gold trophy with both hands. He’s sitting on Agüero’s shoulders. If you look closely at the background, the sea of blue and white jerseys is a blur. This is the definition of "peak." But there’s a funny detail most people forget: Messi wasn't even holding the "real" trophy in the most famous versions of these photos.
Actually, for a good chunk of the celebration, he was holding a replica made by fans from La Plata. It looked so real that even Angel Di Maria had to point out the FIFA markings to Leo later on the pitch. They laughed about it. Imagine winning the greatest prize in your profession and spending twenty minutes parading a high-end fake. It doesn't matter, though. The foto de Messi con la copa del mundo represented the end of a narrative arc that spanned two decades.
Why We Can't Stop Looking at It
Psychologically, there's a reason this image sticks. We love a "completion" story. For years, the shadow of Diego Maradona hung over Messi. People said he couldn't be the greatest without that specific piece of gold. Every time he lost a final—2014, 2015, 2016—the internet was flooded with photos of him looking dejected, walking past the trophy without touching it.
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The 2022 photo is the "answer" to those years of memes and heartbreak. It’s the visual resolution of a global tension.
Then there’s the lighting. The stadium lights hit the gold of the trophy and the gold of the three stars on the jersey in a way that feels almost cinematic. It wasn't filtered to death; it was just raw. When Messi posted a gallery of these images to Instagram, it racked up over 75 million likes. It surpassed the "World Record Egg" which had held the top spot since 2019.
The "Bed" Photo and the Aftermath
We have to talk about the morning after. If the stadium shot was the "epic" version, the photo of Messi sleeping with the World Cup trophy in bed was the "human" version. It’s arguably just as famous.
Messi looks like a kid on Christmas morning. He’s tucked under a white duvet, cuddling the trophy like a teddy bear, with a mate gourd on the nightstand. It humanized a god-like figure. It showed that after the noise of 80,000 screaming fans died down, he just wanted to be with the thing he’d chased since he was a kid in Rosario.
The Gear That Captured History
For the camera nerds out there, these images weren't just lucky iPhone snaps. Professional photographers like Botterill were using high-end Canon gear—specifically the EOS R3. They were shooting at high shutter speeds to freeze the motion of the jumping crowd.
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- Camera: Canon EOS R3
- Lens: 24-70mm (roughly)
- Context: Captured during the lap of honor
The technical perfection of the foto de Messi con la copa del mundo is why it looks so good on a 4K monitor or a giant billboard. It’s sharp enough to see the texture of the trophy’s base and the sweat on Messi’s forehead.
The Cultural Ripple Effect
This image didn't stay on Instagram. It’s on murals in Bangladesh. It’s tattooed on thousands of legs in Argentina. It’s the lock screen for millions.
There's a specific nuance to why this photo hit harder than, say, Mbappe winning in 2018 or Ronaldo’s various victories. It’s the "Last Dance" energy. Everyone knew this was likely Messi's final shot. If he’d lost, the "foto de Messi con la copa del mundo" would have never existed, and he would have retired as the man who almost had it all.
Instead, we got the image of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) finally holding the only thing that gave him "imposter syndrome" among his own countrymen.
How to Find the Best High-Res Versions
If you’re looking to print this or use it for a project, don't just grab a grainy screenshot from Twitter. The official Getty Images archive holds the master files.
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- Search for "Messi World Cup Final 2022" on official photo agency sites.
- Look for the "shoulder carry" shot by Shaun Botterill.
- Check the official FIFA media library for the "behind-the-scenes" angles.
Don't settle for the low-quality re-uploads. The beauty of this moment is in the detail—the grain of the grass, the embroidery on the jersey, and the sheer disbelief in Messi's eyes.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans and Collectors
If you want to preserve this piece of history, here’s what you should actually do.
First, avoid buying "official" prints from random Instagram ads; they are usually low-quality Upscales. Instead, look for licensed commemorative books like the ones published by El Gráfico or specialized sports photography journals. They have the rights to the raw files and the color grading will be much more accurate to what actually happened that night in Qatar.
Second, if you're a digital collector, save the original Instagram post URL. In the era of AI-generated images—which are already flooding search results for "Messi World Cup"—the original 2022 post remains the only true "source of truth." It’s a digital artifact.
Finally, take a moment to look at the photos of the crowd behind Messi in that famous shot. You’ll see fans crying, photographers falling over each other, and teammates in pure shock. That’s the real story. The foto de Messi con la copa del mundo is the center point, but the chaos around the edges is what makes it feel real. It wasn't a sterile, corporate moment. It was a beautiful, messy, loud, and long-overdue celebration that we likely won't see the likes of again for decades.