The Messi-Salt Bae memes just keep on giving post World Cup fiasco; but who is this man?

The recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2022 was not only extremely entertaining for the outstanding football seen on the field, but also for incidents that happened off the pitch. One such individual who caught the eye of fans was popular Turkish celebrity chef Salt Bae.

Salt Bae was seen ing pictures with several of the Argentine stars after their brilliant World Cup win against France. While most of the players seemed interested in getting a picture ed with Salt Bae, one individual that seemed disinterested was Argentine captain Lionel Messi.

Who is Salt Bae? Why are his memes with Lionel Messi going viral?

Salt Bae grabbed all the headlines following the conclusion of a cracking FIFA World Cup 2022 final between Argentina and France as he was seen being brutally ignored by seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi. As seen in the video below, the 35-year-old seemed irked by Salt Bae attempting to pester him for a picture together.

With Salt Bae getting undue access to the pitch during Argentina's celebrations, FIFA have said that they are investigating the incident. "Following a review, FIFA has been establishing how individuals gained undue access to the pitch after the closing ceremony at Lusail stadium on 18 December. The appropriate internal action will be taken," a FIFA spokesperson told Sky Sports.

Considering the way in which Salt Bae seemingly intruded on Lionel Messi's FIFA World Cup celebrations, several similar memes of the two have been circulated on social media, where the celebrity chef can be seen encroaching in the Argentine international's personal space.

And the ramifications of Salt Bae's intrusion just does not end there as now US Open Cup's official social media handle has confirmed that they would be banning the celebrity chef from the competition's final. The US Open Cup is the oldest football tournament in the United States.