Lionel Messi gets a gun in his face

As Lionel Messi touched down in the Middle East with the rest of the Argentina squad ahead of Wednesday's international friendly against Saudi Arabia, even he could not have expected the greeting he was about to receive.

The Barcelona forward's worldwide stardom seemingly knows no bounds, judging by the huge media scrum, and party of fans that came to Riyadh Airport to catch a small glimpse of the three-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Armed guards were forced to protect Messi as he made his way through the crowds of onlookers, with one soldier in particular accidentally placing his gun in a precarious position, that would have left even the coolest of customers a little hot under the collar.

Watch more footage from Messi's hectic arrival with the rest of the Argentina squad in the VIDEO below: