The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham gifted Pope Francis a signed Lisandro Martinez’s Manchester United Jersey during a visit to the Vatican on Thursday.
Pope Francis hails from Argentina, the nation which Lisandro Martinez lifted the World Cup with last December in Qatar.
Burnham visited the holy father with a select poll of religious and civic leaders from Greater Manchester who made a promise to tackle climate change.
During the enclosed meeting, Andy Burnham handed over the framed signed Manchester United jersey sent by Lisandro Martinez to the pope.
Earlier on Thursday, the labour politician posted a tweet which reads: “Good morning @LisandrMartinez. We are about to give your gift to the Holy Father!”
The Argentine defender joined Manchester United from Ajax in 2022
The Manchester United defender who is nicknamed “The Butcher ” signed for the English giants in July 2022 from Ajax Amsterdam in a £56 million deal.
Martinez has become an integral part of Erik Ten Hag’s success this campaign, which has included lifting the English Football League Cup at Wembley in February.
Based on the BBC, Andy Burnham thought about the “historic moment” of meeting the holy father concerning climate change, saying: “This is the first time that all the faith leaders of Greater Manchester have come together with civic leaders to agree our pledge for a greener Greater Manchester region.”
The delegates also consisted of Jewish, Hindu and Sikh leaders led by Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, and Dean of Manchester, Rogers Govender.
According to reports from The Tablet, Pope Francis told them about their promise: “An essential aspect of this contribution is your commitment, as men and women of faith, to forming the minds and hearts of the young, and seconding their demand for a change of course and for farsighted policies that have as their goal a sustainable and integral human development.”
The shirt gifted to the Pope also carried a personal message From Lisandro Martinez that read “Su Santidad, Con mucho cariño, LM”, which when translated means “to Your holiness, with much love, Licha”.
The Argentine would not be available for Manchester United for the remainder of the campaign after sustaining a metatarsal injury in the first leg of Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Sevilla.
United missed Martinez in the loss to Sevilla
Manchester United missed the service of Lisandro Martinez for the second leg of the clash and it was evident during the encounter as Manchester United lost 3-0 to Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with a notable error from Harry Maguire leading to the opener for their opposition.
Martinez posted on Instagram last week: “Not the way I imagined what’s been a very special season would end, but sometimes we face obstacles along the way that we have to overcome to make us stronger and we learn from them. I know that I’ll be back very soon to go for more.
“In the meantime, I’ll continue to support all my team-mates to achieve our objectives.
“The number of messages and support I’ve received has been amazing, they’re giving me strength and encouragement at this moment. Many, many thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart.”
