Lionel Messi has blossomed into the player many call the greatest to ever live and every player wants to swap jerseys with him.
Swapping jerseys before, during, or after a football match has become a ritual that permeates throughout every layer of the game.
This ritual has been considered by others as a sign of respect to request a shirt of an opponent, and a sign of mutual admiration to grant the request.
Lionel Messi has enjoyed a lovely start at his new club Inter Miami and the U.S. media constantly hover around him.
From the video shared above, you can also see the excitement on the faces of players who receive Messi’s jersey after games.
The players see the swap as an achievement, even if Messi led his own team to defeat theirs in the encounter.
New York Red Bulls and Nashville SC players are at the top list of players who have swapped jerseys with Messi after matches.
Lionel Messi always gives his jersey not just to players, but to celebrities as well with Selena Gomez getting her own souvenir.
McCarthy once told Yahoo Sports journalist Andy Deossa that all it took was asking Messi “camiesta, por favor?”, which means, “jersey please”, and the Argentine agreed.
How does Lionel Messi decide who to give Jersey?
The Argentine was once quizzed about how he decides to give his jersey after matches and he said: “I simply exchange with whoever happens to be there at that moment.”
Lionel Messi revealed this in a press conference with Miami Herald in August, just prior to the Leagues Cup final.
“I have had a chance to play against teams that had Argentine players and generally we swap shirts, but I also exchanged shirts with players in Europe, players who I knew from before… it’s always nice to change shirts with friends or players I know.”
However, the Athletic’s Pablo Maurer reportedly did a deep dive on the constant “maneuvering and deal-making” for Messi’s swap, which he calls “lively”.
The Argentine however has one rule – which he stated in 2017 – that says: he never initiates a swap, only agrees to them.
Speaking to Argentine television station TYC at the time, the World Cup winner stated that “I don’t ask for shirts.”
“If there is an Argentine, I will swap with an Argentine. If not and there is someone else that asks me, I will swap it with them. If not, I do not look and do not ask.”
However, Lionel Messi has once asked for a jersey, and it was a jersey of one of the greatest players ever – Zinedine Zidane.
