GOAL! This Is The Most Liked Instagram Pic In History

Lionel Messi, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, has just broken the record for the most-liked Instagram photo in history.

What Happened: The photos, which were posted on Messi's official Instagram account on Dec. 18, received an astounding 63.47 million likes in under 48 hours.

The main photo itself features Messi in action, lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy and celebrating with his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, with fans quick to show their support for the Argentine superstar.

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A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

But what makes this photo so special? In addition to being a testament to Messi's incredible talent and popularity, it also marks a major milestone for Instagram as a platform.

With over 4.8 billion monthly active users, Instagram has become a go-to destination for celebrities and influencers to connect with their fans. And with this record-breaking photo, Messi has cemented his place as one of the most popular and influential figures on the platform.

Why It Matters: Messi's photos surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 42 million likes for a chess game he and Messi were playing on Nov. 19, to become the most liked professional athlete photos ever.

A record-breaking eight of the Top 20 most popular articles belong to the Argentine superstar, who primarily published these posts surrounding the 2022 World Cup.

The previous record was held by the Instagram account @world_record_egg, which published a photograph of an egg with the explicit goal of outpacing the post that had received the most likes at the time, a photo of Kylie Jenner's daughter, which had 18.6 million.

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