Inter Miami CF captain Lionel Messi was presented with an unusual request following his team’s 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday as the game’s referee asked him for his jersey.
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava approached the 2022 World Cup winner on the pitch after the final whistle to request his jersey.
Messi, who had played all 90 minutes and scored the only goal in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup first round, obliged.
Wednesday’s strike was Messi’s first official goal of the year.
The Argentina icon is back in action on Saturday when Inter Miami host New York City FC in their MLS opener.
Ortiz Nava, 36, had to wait to get his hands on the precious shirt as Messi agreed to give him the jersey once inside the changing room and for good reason.
Temperatures at the Children’s Mercy Park hit 3 degrees Fahrenheit with a “real feel” of negative eight at half-time.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano labelled the freezing conditions “inhumane.”
“I think it’s impossible to play in these conditions,” he said after the game. “It is not human.”
