After Patrick Stewart passed away at the age of 86, many may remember his anecdote when he met Lionel Messi at a glitzy award's ceremony

Patrick Stewart looked straight past Cristiano Ronaldo so he and his wife could grab a picture with Lionel Messi. The legendary Star Trek and X-Men actor has sadly passed away at the age of 86 years old after a short battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Tributes have been made to the star, who died at his Los Angeles home. There are many tales about the iconic British actor, but one that stands out is his brief meeting with Messi.

In 2017, at the Best FIFA Football Awards Show in London, Stewart was invited to present the FIFA Fair Play award on stage, while accompanied by ex-Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly and actor Idris Elba. After the show, Stewart was determined to meet Messi so his wife Sunny Ozell could have a picture with him.

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Not only did Stewart have to drag his other half through endless waves of security to get to the football great, he even walked past Cristiano Ronaldo. Looking back at the amusing story while appearing on stage, four days after the show, he said: "It was really, really hard because there was security like you've never seen.

"It might've been the Royal Family because there was Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Maradona, and you couldn't get to them. I was sitting at the front row but right at the end, all these guys were on the other end.

"I decided when the show was over, I'm going to make a run for it. They were saying 'Thank you everybody, what a great night, thank you.' I turned to my wife and I said 'You follow me and stay close'.

"I shot along the front row and the edge of the stage going 'Excuse me, excuse me' and going 'I'm Patrick Stewart, I'm Patrick Stewart' thinking it might help. I arrived and they were like 'Oh yeah, okay' and I saw Cristiano Ronaldo look up and go 'Oh it's this guy' and I couldn't see Leo, he wasn't there.

"He had actually turned around and bent down over his seat, and he's quite short, and so he just vanished behind everybody. I stood behind him and then he stood up and turned around and we were face to face. This is emotional to me. He just breathed into my face and I said 'Senor Messi. Por favor. Mi esposa'."

Messi kindly obliged and posed for a picture with Stewart's other half. While this exchange was happening, Messi's partner Antonela Roccuzzo realised who her iconic husband was talking to.

Stewart added: "They shook hands and then I said 'Can I please take a photograph of the two of you together?' I took the photo, not a selfie, I took a photo of Lionel Messi and my wife side by side and then his wife said 'And I want a photograph with you!'"

Stewart and Roccuzzo then joined Ozell and Messi for, what quickly became, one of the most iconic photos of the evening. Amusingly, in one of their photos, Ronaldo was clearly seen behind them on stage receiving his reward.

The photograph from the exchange is one which will certainly be reminisced upon as the world comes to terms with Stewart's passing.