Barca players queue up to get Messi snap after Copa del Rey win over Bilbao

Lionel Messi was forced to put in overtime by his teammates during Barcelona's celebrations after their 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.

The Argentine legend was at his imperious best to lead his side to the trophy, scoring twice as Barcelona scored four goals in just 12 minutes.

But Messi was made to work just as hard off the pitch, as his teammates showed how much they are in awe of their captain.

The Barcelona players queued up and one-by-one walked up with a sheepish grin to join their captain for a picture with him and, seemingly less importantly, the trophy.

Frenkie de Jong and Miralem Pjanic were among those who waited their turn to get snapped with Messi, who saw the funny side and was laughing at the spectacle.

The Dutch midfielder certainly earned his picture with Messi, exchanging passes in the build-up to what was a stunning goal as the Argentine made it 3-0 after De Jong had already scored and provided an earlier assist.

Messi made it four from a Jordi Alba cross shortly after, as Barcelona cruised to their first trophy under Ronald Koeman and their first under any manager since winning La Liga in 2019.

Speaking after the match, once his teammates had released him from photo duties, the Barcelona captain was in high spirits after getting his hands on a seventh Copa de Rey trophy.

'It's very special to be the captain of this club,' Messi told Barca TV. 'It's a very special Copa for me because I'm able to lift it [myself].

'Not being able to celebrate it with our fans is a pity. The situation is what we have to live with. It's a shame.

'The Copas are always special and the fans enjoy them a lot. These are two clubs that are used to these finals and [used to] enjoying them a lot.'

There could yet be more pictures to be taken and another trophy to be won this season for Barcelona, with a tense La Liga title race in store.

Atletico Madrid lead the way on 67 points, one point ahead of Real Madrid, with Barcelona just one point further back and Sevilla on 61 points, going into the final eight games of the season.