The 2018 FIFA World Cup is just a couple of days away and the teams have reached Russia for the mega event. The players of Argentina attended their first practice session and around 400 fans of the team turned up to get a glimpse of their favourites. However, Lionel Messi got the maximum attention.

After an hour-long session, as he headed out, the fans chanted his name, “Messi Messi.” The Barcelona star also did not disappoint his fans and met them He even obliged them with a few pictures and autographs. He also posed for selfies with the fans. A few pictures of Messi signing autographs went viral. Check out the pictures.

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Messi interacts with the fans.

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Barcelona star obliges with an autograph.

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Here’s another one.

This one is from their practice session.

Ernesto Lagorio, Argentina's ambassador to Russia, was also at the session to catch up on the players. "We came to see our national team, it's the first acquaintance with them, it's been great,".We've already been to Bronnitsy several times, we've worked a lot with the authorities and the mayor. He's helped us a lot, it's been in the works for several months," Lagorio told AFP.

Recently while speaking to a newspaper, Messi was asked about his retirement. He said, “I don't know. It will depend how we do, how it ends. The fact we've lost three finals now has led to some complicated moments with the Argentine press due to the differences in seeing what it means to reach a final. It is not easy and [reaching three finals] has to be appreciated. It's true that winning them is important, but getting there is not easy.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2018 03:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).