Lionel Messi and the entire Argentina national team received a heroes' welcome upon their return to Buenos Aires, but the FIFA World Cup champions' open-top bus parade nearly suffered an unwanted accident.
La Albiceleste returned to their home country in the early hours of Tuesday on the back of their impressive victory over France. La Pulga scored twice while Kylian Mbappe got a hat-trick en route to a 3-3 draw, with the South Americans emerging triumphantly courtesy of a penalty shootout in what was the most entertaining final in recent memory.
After a short parade in Qatar, Scaloni's men made a swift return to Argentina to celebrate their victory with their home fans, with thousands of supporters lining up on the streets to welcome their champions despite the time.
However, things could have gotten ugly. Messi was one of a number of key players who could have gotten knocked off the bus while waving to the supporters as he came within inches of getting caught by overhead power cables.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner sat alongside fellow veterans Angel di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi, as well as Rodrigo de Paul and Leandro Parades, hoisting the trophy for the fans when this incident occurred. Fortunately, all five of them managed to duck in time. Check out the scary moment in the clip below.
¡CUIDADO CON LOS CABLES MUCHACHOS! Insólito momento en la llegada de los campeones del mundo a Argentina.
— ESPN Argentina (@ESPNArgentina) December 20, 2022
Se le voló la gorra a Leandro Paredes. pic.twitter.com/mUfGmOTQdU
De Paul, nicknamed Messi's bodyguard, warned his brethren in time and thus protected his captain. While the former Barcelona star laughed off this incident while Parades only lost his hat.
The players are set to get a few hours of sleep before resuming the celebrations, with Messi and Co. heading to the Obelisk, the iconic Buenos Aires landmark, to greet even more fans after their unforgettable success at Qatar 2022.
