For quite some time, it has been widely spoken about that Zinedine Zidane was the only player that Barcelona great Lionel Messi asked to swap shirts with, however, that isn’t the case.
Usually, it is obvious a player like Messi gets requests from players to swap jerseys with them after a match, but it seems like the six-time Ballon d’Or winner was keen on acquiring another player’s shirt in the form of Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger.
The two were representing their respective teams in a Champions League knockout tie and though Rudiger thought there was no way Messi would want to swap shirts with him, in stepped Cesc Fabregas and helped the German defender get the coveted jersey that he still has it till now.
In another tale involving Messi giving shirts to opposition players, former Almeria player Fabian Vargas had shed light on the 32-year old’s touching gesture when he found himself on an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona in 2010.
Before the game he asked Messi for his shirt to go towards an auction to help raise funds following a flood that had happened in his native Colombia and somehow forgot to ask for the legend’s shirt after the miserable loss. However, Messi remembered.
“I went out and there he was with a little bag,” said Vargas.
He continued, “I remember he said, ‘Look, these are the shirts that I could collect for you.’ I thanked him and hugged him [thinking that it was just his shirt as I had requested from him]. When I came back and opened the bag, there was [not just] Messi’s shirt, but also those of Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, Dani Alves, [Gerard] Pique and [Carles] Puyol.”
Revealing how he felt after that gesture, Vargas concluded, “I will never forget that gesture. [I wish that he] continues to break records. Because of his gesture to me, it’s something I always want.”
