Copa load of this: Lionel Messi gets one over on Cristiano Ronaldo by breaking Instagram record with Copa America snap

A week after finally winning his first major silverware with the Argentina national team, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has now smashed a record on Instagram after being snapped with the Copa America trophy.

As Angel Di Maria scored the winner in a 1-0 Copa America final triumph over bitter rivals Brazil, Messi rubbed out one of the few blemishes in his storied career after four previous falls at the last hurdle.

Celebrations on the Maracana pitch were ecstatic, and continued in the dressing rooms as the Argentina players drank and sang terrace chants that goaded their rivals.

In a minute alone with the trophy, though, Messi uploaded a snap of him and the long-elusive silverware to his 233 million followers on Instagram. 

It came with a sweary caption in Spanish, which read: "What a beautiful madness. This is amazing – thank you, god.

"We are champions, the shell of your mother. Come on – f*ck."

As Messi perhaps surpasses Ronaldo in the debate over who is the greatest of all time with his latest feat too, the shot has also earned the distinction of pipping the Portuguese's tribute to Maradona when the Argentine demigod passed away in November.

As of Sunday, it has received more than 20,170,000 likes – a record for a sports post.

Overall, it is now the sixth most-liked in history behind others from pop stars Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and XXXTentacion, and the record-setting egg from early 2019.

That frivolous post, made as part of an account known as 'World Record Egg', used an image of a bird egg with the caption: "Let's set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram."

Currently a free agent, Messi is reportedly set to put pen to paper on a new five-year deal at the Camp Nou while taking a 50 percent pay cut to help the cash-strapped Catalans.

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