An 11-year-old youngster had the experience of a lifetime when he played football with the one and only Lionel Messi on holiday.
Mackenzie O'Neill, from London, was playing football on the beach by himself in the stunning Caribbean island Jumby Bay in Antigua.
He holidays at that very same beach every year but one occasion saw him complete life with the ultimate flex.
Messi, Barcelona and Argentina's record goalscorer, was staying with his friends and family. It was just after the 2019 Copa America, where La Albiceleste were beaten 2-0 by Brazil in the semi-final.Messi's father and agent, Jorge, spotted Mackenzie playing with a ball on the sand on his own and promptly invited him to join in with the footballing superstar and his eldest son Thiago.
"Messi was with his family on the beach. I was on my own and began to kick my ball a few feet from where they were," Mackenzie told Argentine newspaper Ole.
"His dad Jorge threw a ball to me and asked if I wanted to play with them and then we played football with Thiago and Messi for 45 minutes."Thiago is a fantastic player for his age and wasn't shy about playing. Playing with Messi was incredible."Mackenzie didn't get too have too much conversation with Messi because of the language barrier but he did get translation through his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and ended up spending a fair bit of time with the Messi clan.
We've all made best friends on holiday - spending every minute with them before never hearing from them again even if you got their MSN or BBM pin.Mackenzie happened to become mates with the son of the greatest ever player and ended up going swimming with his new crew.
"He lifted me up on his shoulders and Thiago followed me wherever I went. Playing with Leo in the water was great fun. "He acted like a normal dad. I also realised that Messi really enjoyed seeing his son play with other children.
"The last night Messi and his family were here I was playing with Thiago and gave him my football to keep.
"But he ran after me along the beach and insisted I keep it. Afterwards Messi and his wife said goodbye to me with huge smiles. I am not going to forget them."Just imagine being able to tell all your mates at school? And then of course it's definitely one for the grandkids later in life. An insane story.
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