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SEBASTIAN DRIUSSI COULD be forgiven if he was tempted this week to utter that immortal celebrity phrase: “Don’t you know who I am?”

Zenit St Petersburg forward Driussi, 21, spotted Lionel Messi in a hotel in Russia, where he is on international duty with Argentina, and requested a photograph with the FC Barcelona star.

Messi accepted and took the photo with Driussi as he thought the youth team player was a football fan. He later apologised to Driussi for not recognising him.

When Driussi uploaded his photograph to Instagram, Messi realised his mistake and, according to MARCA, sent a message to the player to apologise.

“I feel bad about it because I did not recognise him, even though I know him,” Messi said.

“When he asked for a photo I thought it was one of the guys who are always waiting for a photo and I apologised after.”

“When I saw him in the lobby of the hotel I was thinking of something else and I did not realise.”

Argentina’s preparations for the World Cup continue on Saturday when the team takes on hosts Russia in a friendly at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

- Alan Dawson, Business Insider

• As proud Energy Partner to the FAI, SSE Airtricity have given us a pair of tickets to the sold-out Republic of Ireland vs Denmark game to give away. You’ll watch the Boys in Green (hopefully) seal World Cup qualification from your premium level seats after enjoying food and refreshments in the Vavasour Suite before the match. To enter simply email competitions@the42.ie with your score prediction for the away leg and we’ll pick a winner from the correct entries on Sunday morning.

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