Lionel Messi has escaped injury after being dragged down by a security guard clumsily trying to prise a crazed fan off him.
The incident took place during Inter Miami’s early-season friendly in Puerto Rico against Independiente del Valle.
In the 88th minute, a pitch invader with his top off sprinted out from behind the Miami goal before charging towards Messi.
The 38-year-old is no stranger to wild levels of adoration from supporters launching themselves towards him and this particular fan grabbed Messi from behind.
The embrace lasted a couple of seconds before the security guard, lagging dangerously behind, eventually caught up.
In a panic, he tried to haul the fan off Messi but inadvertently pulled the footballer to the turf with them.
Lionel Messi was hauled to the ground by a security guard who tried to grab a crazed fan
All three men ended up in a tangled heap before Messi was able to rise back to his feet, looking irritated but unhurt.
Prior to the incident, two other young fans had invaded the pitch and were taking a picture with their hero when the shirtless individual joined the fray, catching Messi by surprise.
It was a strange moment on an equally odd evening.
Inter Miami have already started their season and the friendly was originally scheduled for February 13.
Messi was struggling with a tight hamstring and wasn’t able to play, leading to the whole encounter being postponed given he is the main attraction.
This re-arranged game came just five days after Inter Miami began their MLS season by losing 3-0 against Son Heung-min’s LAFC.
Thursday’s friendly will now be followed up by a game against local rivals Orlando City on Sunday, just 72 hours later.
Messi had to deal with multiple supporters running onto the pitch to interact with him
In another bizarre twist, the Independiente del Valle friendly was delayed by around an hour due to a kit clash.
Both teams were wearing mostly black kits, making it difficult to tell them apart. No changes were made and they played on in black.
When the match eventually began, the 12,500 fans in Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel were rewarded by a Messi penalty in a 2-1 victory for Javier Mascherano’s side in one of the more eventful friendly games in recent memory.
