Messi takes children to school as he enjoys time off during Argentina hiatus

He may be one of the greatest players of all time but Lionel Messi isn't adverse to undertaking everyday tasks like doing the school run.

The Barcelona star isn't on international duty, and, subsequently, was able to take his two eldest sons, Thiago and Mateo, to school.

Dressed casually, Messi seemed pleased as he spent time with his children.

Messi wasn't included in the Argentina squad to face Guatemala and Colombia, as he instead chooses to focus on his club career.

The 31-year-old hasn't retired from international football, and could still represent Lionel Scaloni's team at a later date, but he found himself under a significant amount of pressure during Argentina's World Cup campaign, which ended with a defeat to France at the last-16 stage.

Tensions in the dressing room contributed to Argentina's disappointing showing, and Messi, his country's highest scorer of all time with 65 goals, is temporarily stepping aside.

Messi was surprisingly overlooked when the nominees for The Best FIFA Men's Player award were announced, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah being shortlisted.

So far this season Messi has been in hugely impressive form, having scored four goals in his first three La Liga games.