Intermiami CF captain Lionel Messi was presented with a rare request after the team won 1-0 at Sports Kansas City on Wednesday as the game’s referee asked him for a jersey.
Messi’s shirt is undoubtedly the most popular in football around the world, and players and fans around the world want to get it.
However, on Wednesday, it was Mexican umpire Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava who approached the 2022 World Cup winner on the pitch after his final whistle demanding his jersey.
Messi played all 90 minutes and scored the only goal in the first leg of the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, mandated.
Ortiz Nava, 36, agreed to give Messi a jersey once inside the changing room, so he had to wait to get his valuable shirt.
Temperatures at Children’s Mercy Park reached 3°F at halftime with a “real feel” of negative 8.
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Intermiami coach Javier Mascherano labeled the frozen state as “inhuman.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to play under these conditions,” he said after the game. “It’s not human.”
Wednesday’s strike was Messi’s first official goal of the year.
The Argentine icon is active on Saturday when InterMiami hosted New York City FC at the MLS opener.
