Lionel Messi is one of the most adored individuals in the world.With football laying claim to its status as one of the most popular sports on the planet, it's only natural that arguably its greatest ever player is celebrated by millions upon millions of fans.And while that must be incredible to experience when you're strutting your stuff on the pitch, it does mean that life away from football must be incredibly stressful for the Argentina star at times.

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Besides, you only have to look at footage of Messi being swarmed by supporters while leaving a restaurant in Miami this summer to see how overwhelming being that famous must feel like.

And when you bear all that in mind, it really is remarkable that the 34-year-old continues to carry himself with the upmost class and sincerity, regularly taking time out for those who adore him.

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Even on the day of Messi's emotional press conference at Camp Nou in August, footage quickly emerged of the Paris Saint-Germain forward signing memorabilia for Barcelona fans from his car.

In other words, Messi really is a class act when it comes to giving back to the fans who cherish him and that wasn't any different when he was presented with a unique scenario on Argentina duties.

Messi's classy moment with young fan

That's because footage has emerged from ESPN programme SportsCenter that shows a quick exchange between Messi and a young fan ahead of Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Brazil.

The heart-warming clip shows how the child was stopped by security once Messi had disembarked the team bus, only for the Barcelona legend to make a clear effort to tend to the situation.

The 34-year-old actively approached the young fan, which quickly calmed the security detail, before posing for a selfie that will no doubt be cherished for years to come. Check out the video below:

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Fair play, Leo, fair play.

Taking time out for fans

Considering how quickly the security team reacted to the situation, Messi certainly didn't need to get himself involved and could simply have continued his short walk to relative privacy without a fuss.

And that wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing, by the way, because it must be incredibly intense as a footballer to experience that level of attention even when you don't necessarily want it.

Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from the classiness of Messi taking a few seconds out of his day for a gesture that one young supporter might well talk about for the rest of his life.

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It might not be part of the job description but from the outside looking in, one can't help feeling that it must - in many ways - prove the most earnest and rewarding side to the profession.