“That’s Half the Mount Rushmore of GOAT Athletes” – Lionel Messi Posing With Muhammad Ali’s Clay Figure in Saudi Arabia Sparks Fan Frenzy

Lionel Messi’s affinity toward the legendary Muhammad Ali is bridging two great sporting fanbases. The Argentine is known to be a big fan of the former boxer and even has a shrine at his home with a set of posters. Previously, YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul expressed that, to him, Lionel Messi was the greatest in all sports, and Ali, on the other hand, was the most influential. In this instance, Messi’s recent picture with the clay statue of the late Muhammed Ali has sent many into a mania.

Muhammed Ali is one of the most iconic sporting figures in history. With 56 wins and 5 losses in boxing, the American went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship three times, leaving as big a mark in the boxing ring as he did outside it.

Lionel Messi poses with Muhammed Ali, fans in awe of the picture on social media

Messi is currently on a trip to Saudi Arabia for preseason club friendlies. In a dinner hosted by Saudi officials at VA Riyadh, a luxurious shopping and hospitality center, Messi, along with his teammates, made his presence.  Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, posted a picture on his Instagram story. In the picture, Messi is posing next to a clay statue of Ali.

The picture was reposted on X (previously Twitter) by the famous fan page Messi Xtra with the caption, “The legend Messi takes a photo with a statue of Muhammed Ali Clay 😨🥊””

The reactions from the collective fanbase were rather overwhelming, with one fan pointing out that the picture would be an iconic one for the entire country. Majid wrote, “A picture for a country.”

Some people chose to defend Messi against other trolls for respecting Ali. This fan wrote, “Someone who criticizes the legend, maybe he doesn’t have the money to get a new phone.”

However, one fan was rather annoyed with the picture quality. As a celebrity who posts regularly on social media, fans expect better from the photographer. This fan trolls him by calling him, “Laptop photographers?”

https://twitter.com/goatlleo/status/1752481087958237239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Another fan account who posted it felt it was funny. George on X wrote, “Turki just posted this picture of Messi standing next to a statue of Muhammad Ali.” 

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This fan remembers the Inter Miami star’s admiration for Muhammed Ali, saying, “And finally Messi meet his idol.” It also has pictures of Messi wearing Ali’s image printed on his t-shirt. Messi, on a few occasions, has sported t-shirts with the boxer’s image.

Surprisingly, this person thinks it was not Ali at all. She felt it was Sylvester Stallone’s titular character from the 1975 boxing film, Rocky.

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Another user, making a humorous comparison, states that the picture has more iconic faces than Mount Rushmore (which has the faces of four US Presidents engraved on it). It read, “That’s Half the Mount Rushmore of GOAT Athletes”

It looks like the Inter Miami captain, despite rejecting an offer from Saudi Arabia, still holds a prime image in the country. The player, perhaps, in rejuvenation will have his work cut out for the big game against archrival Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr on the 1st of February at the Kingdom Arena.