Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi was treated to an unexpected surprise while lounging on a yacht in Ibiza this week, when a fan took it upon himself to swim out and greet the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in person.

Messi is enjoying his holidays before the 2016-17 campaign gets under way, and Spanish newspaper Sport reported the forward and his entourage watched as the fan supported himself on the yacht's platform.

NBC Sports Soccer provided images of the supporter in question, who swam out from the shoreline before propping himself up on the vessel to " get a closer view of the footballer":

Messi is enjoying the last leg of his summer break, having holidayed in Bermuda following Argentina's penalty-shootout defeat to Chile in the final of the Copa America Centenario, after which he retired from the international game.

The 2016-17 campaign could be the first season Barcelona have Messi at their full disposal without any international distractions, meaning we could see the world-beater at his all-time best.