FC Barcelona forward and Argentina international, Lionel Messi closed in on Gabriel Batistuta's record a couple of days back as he recorded his 50th international goal for La Albiceleste.
Argentina went on to win the World Cup qualifier match 2-0 as Messi netted the ball past the Bolivian goalkeeper from the penalty spot in the 29th minute of the match.
With this victory, Argentina moved up to the third position in their group having secured 11 points from six matches. The side are two points behind Ecuador and Uruguay who are tied at the top of the group.
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Although he should've been in a happy mood thanks to his fine performance for Argentina in a much-needed victory, Lionel Messi surely wouldn't want to remember what he had to deal with after the match ended.
After the final whistle of the match was blown, the 28-year-old Barcelona star was not only chosen for a random drug test, but he was also forced to show his ID card to the CONMEBOL officials before they started the proceedings of the routine examination.
As per the reports by Marca, a couple of Argentine officials who had accompanied Lionel Messi to the drug-testing section needed to show some paperwork before the test got underway. The officials even rushed into the Argentine dressing room to get a hold of Messi's ID.
According to the Spanish paper, there was more to come for the Argentine star. After the conclusion of the drug-test, Lionel Messi was reportedly asked for a part of his kit as a souvenir from so many people that the 28-year-old Barcelona footballer had to return to the dressing room in nothing but his underwear.
Important win for Argentina
The Argentine defender, Gabriel Mercado had put Gerardo Martino's men ahead in the 21st minute of the match before Lionel Messi sealed the deal by converting his penalty to move the team up to third position in the South American qualifier table.
In an interview given to TyC Sports, Messi said, “This (World Cup qualifier campaign) is very long and what's important is that we won and remain on course. I'm happy with goal number 50 but more because we won and this helps to keep growing.”
“It was fundamental to get the six points. I think we played a serious match and won well,” added the Argentine head coach.
