Sir Patrick Stewart, who died on Wednesday aged 86, once walked straight past Cristiano Ronaldo to get a photograph of Lionel Messi and his wife.
The legendary actor famous for his roles in Star Trek and X-Men enjoyed this fanboy moment at the Best FIFA Football Awards in London on 23 October 2017. Stewart presented the FIFA Fair Play award alongside former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly on the night, where Cristiano Ronaldo collected the main men’s prize.
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Speaking on stage four days later, Stewart opened up on how he skipped past Cristiano Ronaldo to meet Lionel Messi with his wife.
“It was really, really hard because there was security like you’ve never seen. It might’ve been the Royal Family because there was Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Maradona, and you couldn’t get to them.”
When the ceremony ended, Stewart set off along the front row with his wife behind him, announcing his own name in case it helped. It was Ronaldo who noticed him first though.
“I arrived and they were like ‘Oh yeah, okay’ and I saw Cristiano Ronaldo look up and go ‘Oh it’s this guy’ and I couldn’t see Leo, he wasn’t there.”
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, had bent down behind his seat and disappeared into the crowd around him. Stewart waited until the Argentine stood up and turned around:
“I stood behind him and then he stood up and turned around and we were face to face. This is emotional to me. He just breathed into my face and I said ‘Senor Messi. Por favor. Mi esposa’.”
“They shook hands and then I said ‘Can I please take a photograph of the two of you together?’ I took the photo, not a selfie, I took a photo of Lionel Messi and my wife side by side and then his wife said ‘And I want a photograph with you!’”
Stewart shared a picture from the meeting on social media platform X that night. It has resurfaced this week alongside the tributes pouring in for the late actor.
Lionel Messi finishes behind Cristiano Ronaldo in BOAT vote
France Football’s BOAT poll, launched for the award’s 70th anniversary, asked fans to pick the greatest Ballon d’Or winning season from a shortlist of multiple winners at €1 a vote.
Ronaldo’s 2008 season at Manchester United, where he scored 42 goals and won the Premier League and Champions League double, came first. Messi’s 2012 campaign, the year where he scored 91 goals for club and country, finished second, with Ronaldo’s 2017 season third. The result was announced on Wednesday.
France Football described the BOAT as a fan poll rather than an official award, and Messi’s record eight Ballon d’Ors stand untouched.
Edited by Nived Zenith
