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Anish, presumably a collector of football merchandise, has reportedly (via Ole) spent a whopping $450,000 to bring home an iconic Lionel Messi jersey. The jersey in question was worn by the Argentine in April 2017's El Clasico in which he scored his professional career's 500th goal.
The top two teams in Spain squared off in the 2016-17 season’s second El Clasico on April 24, 2017. The tension was palpable at the Santiago Bernabeu, as a win for Barcelona was paramount for them to keep up with league leaders Real Madrid.
The hosts drew first blood in the 28th minute, with Casemiro finding the back of the net. Barcelona responded through their skipper Lionel Messi five minutes later to level the game at 1-1.
In the 73rd minute, Ivan Rakitic put the Blaugrana in front for the first time in the match, only for James Rodriguez to restore parity soon after. Finally, in added time, Messi took matters into his own hands and landed the knockout punch.
After scoring the decisive goal, he took off his jersey and held the back of the shirt in front of the Madridistas in emphatic fashion. On Instagram, Anish confirmed that he is now the owner of the same shirt. Unable to contain his excitement, here is what he posted on Instagram:
“It’s coming to my collection…THAT shirt held up by Leo after deciding El Clasico with his 500th goal. Cannot believe it. The holiest of holy grails for my collection.”
Anish also claimed to have confirmed the serial number of the same shirt, proving its authenticity. The collector also has a signed Lionel Messi rookie card, Kylian Mbappe’s match-worn jersey, and more in his enviable collection.
Mauricio Pochettino backs Lionel Messi to redeem himself at Paris Saint-Germain
The 34-year-old forward has not had the best of campaigns since joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last summer. Yes, he managed to win the Ligue 1 title but cut a frustrating figure in the Champions League defeat to his old foes Real Madrid. Overall, he only has nine goals and 13 assists to his name in 31 appearances across competitions this season, which is hardly impressive for a player of his caliber.
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino acknowledges that Messi hasn’t fired on all cylinders this season, but thinks it’s 'unfair' to judge him by goal contributions. In the same breath, he has also backed his compatriot to do better next season, claiming it will be “completely different” for him.
Whether Pochettino remains in charge of the Parisians remains to be seen, but the seven-time Ballon d’Or looks set to remain in Paris next season. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the 2022-23 campaign and deals with the weight of sky-high expectations on his shoulders.
