Socceroo Kai Trewin has become the surprise beneficiary of New Zealand defender Tim Payne's extraordinary rise to world fame, gaining close to 100,000 Instagram followers in a copycat social media campaign.
Days after an Argentinian content creator's quest to garner support for the "least known" player at the World Cup with around 4700 Instagram followers, went viral, Payne's following has ticked over 4.6 million.
El Scarso, a soccer influencer also known as Valen Scarsini, had called upon his followers to make 32-year-old Payne a "hero" of the World Cup - and it took off beyond belief.
Payne has received support, following and messages of good will from around the world, while a song called 'No Payne, No Gain' has gone viral.
The veteran Wellington Phoenix full-back now has greater followings than Kane Williamson (3.3 million) and the All Blacks rugby team (2.8 million).
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New York City FC want Kai Trewin to keep picking up followers too.
Now it is seemingly New York City FC defender Trewin's turn.
Trewin, who started the week with only around 3100 Instagram followers, caught the eye of a Spanish content creator, RubikayTV, who suggested Trewin could play the Cristiano Ronaldo to Payne's Lionel Messi.
In a post on Instagram, translated from Spanish, RubikayTV argued Trewin, not Payne, was the least-known player at the World Cup.
"So, in this parallel universe, if Tim Payne is Messi, why not make Trewin Cristiano Ronaldo and create one of the rivalries of this World Cup?" he said.
Between going to bed on Monday night local time and waking up on Tuesday morning, Trewin became a very popular man, with his follower count ticking over 100,000.
At last count, Trewin had more than 102,000 followers.
The 25-year-old was picked for Australia's World Cup squad off the back of good form with New York City FC, after a successful move from sister club Melbourne City.
