Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has received his own personal tribute section in the stadium of an elite European rival.
The shirt of the Argentine maestro now hangs with other memorabilia in the Allianz Stadium of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Messi's shirt, hanging proudly in a special cabinet, is the only non-Bayern related piece of football history in the club museum.
The reasoning behind all this centres around Messi's breaking of a famous record, formerly held by Bayern club legend Gerd Muller.
In 2012 Barca talisman Messi scored 91 goals in a calendar year, surpassing Muller's previous record of 85 goals set back in 1972.
After breaking the record of the iconic German forward Messi decided to send his match shirt to Muller himself, along with an accompanying message.
Signing the number on the back of his shirt, Messi wrote: 'For Gerd Müller / My respect and admiration / A hug, Leo.'
Rather than keep the kind gesture for himself, 72-year-old Muller opted to send it on to his former club in order for it to hang in the famous stadium.
Messi's shirt came accompanied with a letter from Barca president Sandro Rossell, addressing a message to Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: 'In recognition of the player and person that is Gerd Müller.
'The esteem and admiration our club feels for Bayern and it's fans is demonstrated once again in the historical tie between these two great players who have become sporting legends of our clubs' Rosell added in the letter.
jaineelbhatt
90
I think messi is given importance like sachin..... And ronaldo is getting importance luke Rahul dravid... You will understand my comment if you are in touch in cricket with football
Loaaeiuz
75
you guys are douche bags , arguing about messi and ronaldo . real douche bags yall are . messi and ronaldo are different styled players , both are equally effective , both are untouchable by any other player on the planet for the last decade . we are truly blessed to be living in this era where we can.enjoy the qualities of these two absolutely unique players , as they breathe life into this beautiful game whenever they grace the pitch . instead of just appreciating and celebrating the spectacle they conjure before the masses of fans , despite the constant pressure of ridiculous expectations ... yall douche bags wanna fight about who is better !!! these two men are super human , and even if they both quit tomorrow , their fingerprint on this beloved sport will remain forever , and so will their records . SALUTE to Messi and Ronaldo . the rest of yall ... STOP BEING DOUCHE BAGS PLEASE!!!
yojash
66
this man deserves it for sure❤❤❤
BlaugranaM
50
This is real award and respect for the greatest player. I don’t like those who are dishonest and deceitful to themselves. And comparing Leo with others just in terms of goals..... there are midfielders, attackers , assist providers, dribblers . But Leo is the only complete player. He is the world