Cape Town – A South African fan jumped the fence at FNB Stadium to get a once in a lifetime opportunity to touch Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
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The Catalans landed in South Africa on Wednesday morning for the Mandela Centenary Cup clash against Mamelodi Sundowns on the same day.
Barca did not disappoint the 90 000-strong crowd as they fielded all their stars on the special night.
However, it took the Catalans manager Ernesto Valverde 65 minutes to finally indicate to Messi to start warming up after continuous calls from the crowd to bring on the 30-year-old.
During his warm up, the forward was greeted by cheers from the crowd and one fan took the liberty of attempting to get a bit closer than usual.
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Before Messi was introduced in the 74th minute for Ruiz de Galarreta, the fan jumped the fence and charged towards Messi for a quick embrace.
However, it was not meant to be as a swarm of security guards were quick to protect the Argentinian as they charged down the fan and dragged him off the field.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Oh no! A fan had to be taken off the field after he tried to get his hands on Messi. ?????? pic.twitter.com/Pu1cV1Gtbv
— Kick Off (@KickOffMagazine) May 16, 2018
PICTURES:
Pictures courtesy of Gallo Images.
