Lionel Messi Had to Hide in Cockpit to Avoid Overzealous Fans on Airplane

Soccer star Lionel Messi had to hide in the cockpit of an airplane to avoid enthusiastic fans on a recent flight from Argentina to Spain, El Universal reports. This is not even a joke.

Messi’s Argentina team was coming off a loss to Venezuela and they were scheduled to fly to Barcelona. Their flight apparently did not have a private area for first class like most planes.

Figuring that Messi’s presence would result in a frenzy, the flight crew decided to dim the lights before he boarded. That plan did not work, and the people on the flight became excited. The crew responded by placing Messi in the cockpit until things calmed.

We know celebrities cause excitement wherever they go, but can you imagine needing to hide someone in the cockpit? Messi has inspired some extremely bizarre behavior in the past, but this is a new one. Then again, we’ve shown you plenty of times how enthusiastic soccer fans can be, so this should not be surprising.

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