Pope Francis Gifts PSG Star Lionel Messi Signed Shirt of Athletica Vaticana

Paris: PSG superstar, Lionel Messi received a gift from fellow Argentine Pope Francis as the Head of the Vatican gives him a signed shirt, the Vatican Sports Association announced on Monday. The 7-time record Ballon D’or winner returns to the field after recovering from COVID-19.

Lionel Messi gifted the Pope a signed kit on October 2021 through French Prime Minister Jean Castex and now the former Barcelona man is ecstatic to get a signed shirt from the Pontiff himself. French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard forwarded to the jersey on Pope Francis’ behalf.

“A man of faith, Messi told me how important this step was for him. We prayed together,” Gobilliard, who will be the Holy See’s delegate to the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, said on Twitter.

The Argentine captain receives the yellow jersey of Athletica Vaticana, the state’s multi-sports team. The Vaticana side took to Facebook and said, it was a ‘blessing’ for the 2021 Copa America winner.

Messi played the last 27 minutes of the game in PSG’s 4-0 win over Reims in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Argentine didn’t have the best of seasons with the Parisans, as he managed to score a single league goal so far in 12 games and have scored only 6 goals in 17 games so far, with 5 of the goals coming in the UEFA Champions League.

In the UCL, PSG finished second in the standings and will take on Real Madrid in the Round of 16 stage of the competition on Feb 15th.

Lionel Messi will be facing the Los Blancos side for the first time in ten months but in different colors.