“I slept with a Messi shirt next to my pillow for 2 or 3 months” - Lionel Messi’s ex-La Liga rival on sleeping with Barcelona jersey after exchange

The extent of adoration and respect for football icons like Barcelona legend Lionel Messi can sometimes surpass the ordinary. Messi's number 10 jersey from Barcelona has attained an almost sacred status among football fans across the world, even with non-Blaugrana fans.

Messi's former La Liga rival Matias Vargas has demonstrated a new level of reverence for the Argentine playmaker, as he revealed how he slept on Messi's 'dirty' shirt. Interestingly, Vargas, an Argentine like Messi, only faced him a handful of times in La Liga. Yet, being able to snag the jersey was certainly a big deal for the Espanyol player.

The Espanyol star told Fox Sports:

"I slept with a Messi shirt next to my pillow for two or three months. Dirty, as it was. I played against him and we changed them. My mother told me 'let me wash it'. I told her not to touch it."

Messi's influence has transcended his time at Barca. Now plying his trade with Inter Miami, his jersey sales have shattered records, surpassing sales of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United jersey and Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey.

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Barcelona's struggles after Lionel Messi's exit revealed

Barcelona's journey since Messi's departure has been marked by a challenging transition. Over two years have passed since the move that saw the club's talisman, a figure synonymous with their most triumphant era, leave.

This departure signaled the end of an era, with the final remnants of Luis Enrique's legendary squad also having exited recently. Now, Sergi Roberto and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are the only surviving members of the 2015 Champions League-winning team.

In a recent B3TTer podcast episode, current captain Sergi Roberto reflected on Messi's departure (via Football Espana):

“Lionel Messi is the best player in history, and in the history of the club. When he left it was a total shock. All of the success for the club, in recent years, was with Lionel Messi there being the best player in the world. So when he left, and he isn’t there with you, it was basically like the club started from zero again.”

The sheer dominance once exhibited with Messi spearheading the attack is noticeably absent. The club has since struggled to regain its former glory, with the Blaugrana unable to secure long-term financial success. On the field, they have signed players like Robert Lewandowski, but the sharpshooter has failed to replicate Messi's goalscoring power. The Pole has scored 31 goals in 48 appearances in La Liga so far.