Argentine stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul fly in helicopter over parade due to crowd size

Argentine national soccer team stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, along with coach Lionel Scaloni, were forced to fly in a helicopter over the center of Buenos Aires after their bus got stuck in the massive crowds gathered to watch the parade celebrating the country’s World Cup victory, Argentine federal police said on Tuesday.

A bus carrying the entire team departed from the Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) headquarters and was set to head to the Obelisk, a historic monument in the capital.

However, the bus was not able to progress due to crowds gathered on the streets, Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association said on Tuesday.

“They won’t let us go to greet all the people who were at the Obelisk, the same security agencies that escorted us, won’t allow us to move forward,” Tapia said.

“A thousand apologies on behalf of all the champion players.”

The players were flown over the Obelisk and other areas and then flown back to the AFA training site in Ezeiza, outside of Buenos Aires, police said.