Lionel Messi's name helped save my life, says Argentine man kidnapped in Nigeria

Lionel Messi’s name helped save a man’s life

A young Argentine scientist who was kidnapped in Argentina, spoke to Argentinean newspaper Clarin, and said that shouting out loud the name of Lionel Messi helped save his life. Santiago López Menéndez, who was released after three days in captivity, is an Argentine national working in Nigeria.

He was kidnapped on the 24^th of June, as he was going to work, by a group of men who were armed with weapons, as reported by Clarin. Menendez was tortured and his kidnappers were particularly violent towards him, which he thinks was because they thought he was American.

As per what his brother Jorge told Clarin, Menendez said, "Tell them I am grateful to Messi. Naming him is what saved me."

In his attempts to convince them that he was not an American and was in fact Argentine, he resorted shouting, “Messi, Messi” as his captors did now know English and were not ready to believe that he was not an American, said Clarin. Finally, after he shouted out Messi’s name, they relaxed their attitude towards him, and then the agricultural engineer was released after a ransom was paid by his company.

He was held captive for 3 days, and will soon be back home in Argentina. Lopez Menendez had been working in the west African nation since last year, planting soya and corn crops close to Kontagora in the north-west of the country. Presently, he is under the care of the Argentine Consulate in Nigeria and has said many times that he owes his life to the Barcelona man Lionel Messi, according to Clarin.

Santiago Lopez Menendez, the man who was kidnapped by armed men in Nigeria

We have all seen Messi perform some magic on the field, both for Barcelona and Argentina, but this is unlike anything we’ve ever heard before, and just shows how far-reaching the impact of football and stars of the game is.