Soccer great Lionel Messi has a loyal fan in the shape of a 99-year-old US grandmother.
Superfan Pauline Kana, affectionately known on social media as Gangster Granny, travels the world to watch Messi (39) play.
In this year’s World Cup, Kana’s favourite soccer player played for his home country, Argentina, and Kana was on hand to witness it.
She gleefully boasts having lived to see every FIFA World Cup in history.
Born on 1 August 1926, Kana will be 100 years old in a few weeks. She was four years old when the first FIFA Men’s World Cup officially started in 1930.
The inaugural tournament was hosted and won by Uruguay, featuring 13 participating nations: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, USA, Uruguay and Yugoslavia.
She watched Messi and his teammates beat England in the semifinal, holding a board saying “Messi is my hero”, much to the delight of the soccer player.
Messi sent over a signed Argentina jersey to the content creator after the game.
Kana, who creates content with her grandson, Ross Smith, narrated her Messi video highlighting her exciteing achievement at the World Cup.