Federico D'Elia

❤️🥹 Fabián Vargas was so devastated after losing 8-0 to Barcelona that he completely forgot he’d asked Messi for jerseys to help flood victims in Colombia. But Messi hadn’t forgotten. He personally collected shirts from his teammates and showed up at Almería’s dressing room to deliver them himself. 🇨🇴 In 2010, Colombia was suffering from devastating floods, and Fabián Vargas, who was playing for Almería, had been asked to donate a jersey for a charity auction to raise money for the victims. Vargas agreed, but he knew an Almería jersey wouldn’t attract much attention. Since they were facing Barcelona that week, he decided to approach Messi. 🗣️ Fabián Vargas: “Before going out for the warm-up, I told Messi about the terrible floods in Colombia and asked him for three jerseys: his, Xavi’s and Iniesta’s, because they were the ones who were crushing it at the time. The match ended, and they beat us 8-0 at home! I was so angry that I completely forgot about the jerseys. Then our kit man came and told me: ‘Fabi, Messi is at the locker room door.’ I went outside, and there was Messi, standing there in flip-flops, holding a bag full of jerseys. He told me: ‘Fabi, this is what I was able to get for you. I hope it helps.’ I couldn’t believe it. There were jerseys from Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, but also Puyol, Piqué, Dani Alves, Mascherano, Pinto and another player. Those jerseys helped raise enough money to support 90 families affected by the floods. What touched me most wasn’t just the jerseys. It was the fact that Messi personally collected them and came all the way to our dressing-room to deliver them. Normally, when players exchange jerseys, the kit men handle everything. But Messi took the time to do it himself. Later, when I got home and looked at the eight jerseys, I started laughing. I thought: ‘Did this guy give me one jersey for every goal they scored against us?’ 😂 I even thought about keeping Messi’s jersey for myself. He was in his prime, the most important player in the world. But I couldn’t. I knew those jerseys were going to help people who needed them. When we faced each other again in the Copa del Rey, I thanked him. I told him: ‘Leo, I really want to thank you. It turned out spectacularly. We raised a lot of money and helped 90 families.’ And he simply replied: ‘Well, Fabi, I’m glad they were helpful.’” 🥹 Messi didn’t just give him his own jersey. He went around collecting shirts from his teammates, personally delivered them to the opposition’s dressing room after an 8-0 victory, and helped 90 families affected by devastating floods. The greatest footballer of all time, but stories like this remind you of the human being behind the legend. ❤️🐐