World Cup: All Whites defender Tim Payne meets Argentine influencer behind newfound fame

All Whites defender Tim Payne has finally met the man who helped explode his Instagram following to nearly five million people.

Payne is the second-most popular New Zealand athlete on the social media platform, behind former UFC champion Israel Adesanya, after Argentine football content creator El Scarso, whose real name is Valen Scarsini, posted a video about the defender wanting to make him the “main character” of this year’s Fifa World Cup.

The 32-year-old had about 4000 followers at the time the video was uploaded and is now more popular than the All Blacks and former Black Caps captain Kane Williamson.

Payne and Scarsini met after New Zealand’s 4-0 defeat to Haiti in Miami, the United States, with the defender trying his best to speak in Spanish with the Argentine.

“My friend!” Scarsini said as he rushed in to give Payne a hug.

“Como estas?” Payne responded in Spanish, but admitted he wasn’t able to speak much of the language after that.

“Thank you for everything,” Payne said.

The pair then discussed his newfound fame, with Payne telling Scarsini how it felt to see himself become so popular.

“I didn’t know what to feel, you know? Because it’s so foreign to me,” Payne said.

“Like, still processing, you know? But it’s amazing and I appreciate you doing it for me.”

The defender told Scarsini he thought the attention was good for New Zealand football as well.

“It’s obviously good for myself and New Zealand football too, you know?

“So it puts a light on us, which is a positive thing, but at the same time, for me, I don’t change.

“It’s just, I’m still the person I am, so I just keep trying to do what I do, which is play football and focus on trying to perform for my country.”

Payne also congratulated Scarsini on hitting one million followers on Instagram before both suggested they could visit Argentina and New Zealand at some point.

Payne then gifted Scarsini an All Whites jersey which he signed, with both then posing with multiple glasses of champagne - something the Argentine has been doing every time Payne gains another million followers.

The defender will be hoping his side can bounce back from their 4-0 defeat to Haiti when New Zealand play England in a friendly on Sunday.

The All Whites will kick off their World Cup campaign against Iran on June 16 at 1pm NZT.