Former La Liga player Fabian Vargas has fondly recalled the special moment Lionel Messi helped out victims of the tragic Colombian floods.
Vargas, who used to play for Almeria in La Liga, found himself on the wrong end of an 8-0 humiliation at the hands of Messi and his Barcelona team-mates back in 2010.
But Vargas doesn't remember the match for that specific reason but instead a heart-warming gesture that Messi made following the thrashing.
'Before the game, some friends had called me to ask for my shirt to auction it for the benefit of the victims in my country because of the floods that year,' Vargas told El Pais, via La Nación.
'I took advantage of playing against Barcelona, I went to look for Leo [Messi] before the game to tell him the situation and ask him if he could give me his shirt.'
However, after the match, Vargas left the pitch in frustration at the scoreline, completely forgetting that he asked Messi for his shirt.
But while Vargas was left despondent in the dressing room, the Almeria kit man revealed that someone was waiting outside with a special surprise.
'I went out and there he (Messi) was with a little bag,' he said. 'I remember he said, "Look, these are the shirts that I could collect for you." I thanked him and hugged him [thinking that it was just his shirt as I had requested from him].'
Messi, now a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, took the surprise one step further by handing over shirts of many Barcelona stars.
'When I came back and opened the bag, there was [not just] Messi's shirt, but also those of Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, Dani Alves, [Gerard] Pique and [Carles] Puyol,' Vargas added.
'I will never forget that gesture. I wish that he continues to break records. Because of his gesture to me, it's something I [will] always want.'