FAME hungry Salt Bae shared an old video of him hugging Lionel Messi – after the World Cup winner snubbed him on the pitch.
The celebrity chef was slammed for pestering Argentina’s talisman for a selfie in embarrassing scenes following Sunday’s nailbiting final.
The Turkish cook and Instagram star – real name Nusret Gökçe – was filmed grabbing Messi by the shoulder at least twice.
Messi tried to shrug him off before finally agreeing to pose for an awkward picture.
The chef’s own fans panned his attention seeking antics and his desperate attempt to get close to the world’s greatest footballer.
Last night Gökçe hit back with a new post to his 50million Instagram followers.
READ MORE ON salt bae
It is a video from their only known previous meeting in 2018 when Messi and his wife dined at Gökçe’s steakhouse in Dubai.
France ace Paul Pogba was also there and the chef made sure he got in between them for a photo.
Gökçe’s throwback video shows him shaking Messi’s hand and giving him a bear hug, then talking animatedly while wagging his finger at the Barcelona forward.
His self-promoting video was captioned simply: “The champion”.
Most read in Football
Followers said it was “cringe” and accused him of a desperate attempt to prove he is pals with Messi after getting the cold shoulder days earlier.
One said: “This is embarrassing.”
Another said: “He wanna prove that he wasn’t ghosted by Messi.”
A third said: “You can share as many pictures and videos with Messi as you want, that doesn’t change the fact that your behaviour after the match was totally wrong.”
Messi ate at Gökçe’s Dubai steakhouse with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and a pal in November 2018.
Another video from the time shows how they got the full VIP treatment.
After theatrically slicing their steak at the table, Salt Bae invited Messi to sprinkle salt over it, mimicking his trademark gesture.
Then other diners were heard cheering as the chef fed a slice of beef into Messi’s mouth using the tip of his knife.
The world’s greatest player seemed delighted by the encounter, which Salt Bae posted on Instagram.
Messi also posed for a picture with Gökçe and former Man Utd midfielder Paul Pogba, who dined there the same night.
At the time the two stars were on a break from international duty.
Another video showed them deep in conversation – sparking transfer speculation as Pogba urged Messi: “We have to play together”.
Gökçe has posted selfies with scores of footballers and other celebrities and has forged a friendship with Fifa boss Gianni Infantino.
The world governing body faces questions over why the celebrity chef was allowed on the pitch following embarrassing scenes at the showpiece final.
As well as badgering Messi, he was filmed muscling in on the Argentina squad’s celebrations and snatching the trophy from one winner’s baby.
Gökçe also pretended to do his trademark salt-sprinkling trick over the £17million gold trophy as irritated players stood by.
And boastful pics on his Insta page showed his kissing the trophy and holding it aloft like a champion.
The disgraceful spectacle reportedly broke Fifa’s rules, which say only former winners and heads of state can handle it.
BBC host Gary Lineker shared footage of his attention seeking antics, saying: “He’s such a pest.”
And former FA chairman Greg Dyke said: “I don’t think Fifa and Infantino have come out of this very well.”
Fifa has reportedly refused to say if Salt Bae was granted access to the pitch.
It did not respond to The Sun Online’s request for comment.
If he was given “access all areas” accreditation, that would open the governing body to allegations of cronyism or special treatment for Infantino’s friends, reports The Times.
Read More on The Sun
Other VIP guests at the final included Twitter billionaire Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
And French president Emmanuel Macron was slated for his embarrassing attempts to console losing hattrick hero Kylian Mbappe.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
