Lionel Messi returned to football on Saturday night as he helped Barcelona beat Mallorca 4-0 to remain top of La Liga.Messi scored the final goal of the game on Barca’s first game back since the coronavirus pandemic halted proceedings.While there certainly wasn’t anything unusual about Messi finding the back of the net, there was something different about his appearance.For the first time in many years, Messi was seen without any facial hair.In truth, it looked a bit strange.And it led to a comparison we never thought we’d be making.Messi looks like Gary Neville.
It’s something that loads of fans spotted over the weekend and Neville himself posted an image of him alongside Messi on Instagram, writing: “So alike in many ways.”
And on Monday morning, Piers Morgan decided to bring it to the attention of viewers of Good Morning Britain by saying: “I just want to show a remarkable thing happened overnight, Lionel Messi has shaved his beard off, and he's Gary Neville!
"So there, you have one of the most wondrous gifted footballers of all time, and Lionel Messi.
"Look at that, he's turned into Neville - I wonder how Neville feels about looking like Lionel Messi.”
Brilliant.
Messi may look slightly different but he’s still a star attraction. Despite being played behind closed doors, one fan managed to run onto the pitch in an attempt to get a selfie with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The supporter jumped over a two-metre high fence in an act he had been planning.
"I had planned this ever since I knew the match was happening. I wanted a photo with Messi and to meet him because he's my idol," the French Mallorca resident told radio station Cadena Cope.
We can’t imagine a fan being so keen to get a selfie with Gary Neville…