World Cup reporter goes viral for walking out in the middle of live TV broadcast

An Argentinian reporter is going viral for abandoning his job to get a photo with Shakira at the World Cup opening ceremony.

The Colombian singer was of course in attendance to perform her World Cup anthem, 'Dai Dai [Let's Go]', alongside Nigerian rapper Burna Boy, at Mexico City's Azteca stadium, with the eyes of the world watching on.

Mexico's leg of the 48-team tournament has already received plenty of attention, including questions about the lack of fans in attendance, but it was an incident ahead of the opening ceremony which has gone viral.

While broadcasting live from the stadium for Argentinian outlet DSports, reporter Marcelo Benedetto clocked the 49-year-old singer walking past the pitch with her entourage – and decided to seize the moment.

After telling his colleagues in the studio of his plans, Benedetto paused the broadcast, placed his microphone down and vanished from view in pursuit of Shakira.

The cameraman was able to zoom in on the 'Hips Don't Lie' singer's location, capturing the moment Benedetto was able to secure a photo with the singer.

Shakira can be seen happily obliging with the journalist's request, throwing up a peace sign to the camera, before Benedetto returned to continue his broadcast.

Watch the moment below:

Fair play.

The moment has since gone viral, with one person noting (in Spanish): "The great Marcelo Benedetto leaving the live broadcast to go ask Shakira for a photo. Priorities, always."

"He knows that kind of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime," commented another user, while a third noted: "I would've done the same thing, give that great man a beer."

Benedetto later shared the selfie on Instagram, thanking the singer for stopping to take a photo. "More admiration @shakira for your gesture, filled with humility and sympathy," he wrote.

This isn't the first time Benedetto has made a beeline for a photo with celebrities while reporting on major football fixtures, with the 59-year-old previously snapping a photo with Dua Lipa at the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final in Kyiv.

The Mexico City event was the first of three opening ceremonies, with events set to be held in Toronto later today and Los Angeles on Saturday.

Toronto's event will see Canadian music stars Michael Bublé, Alessia Cara and Alanis Morissette perform ahead of a match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Saturday's event in Los Angeles will feature a performance from Katy Perry, joined by rapper Future, and an appearance from Jason Sudeikis in character as Ted Lasso.