LIONEL MESSI TREATED MAN UTD AND BAYERN STARS VERY DIFFERENTLY AFTER SHIRT SWAP REQUEST

New Chelsea signing Kendry Paez had an unforgettable moment on Sunday as he got the chance to swap shirts with Lionel Messi - but it was mixed fortunes for wonderkids Alphonso Davies and Angel Gomes when they asked the Argentinian for his shirt.

Bayern Munich's Davies and former Man United player Gomes had heavily contrasting experiences when they asked Messi with Davies being declined while Gomes enjoyed a dream moment.

Kendry may have bagged Messi's shirt following Argentina's 1-0 win over Ecuador at the weekend but Bayern full-back Davies did not have the same luck as he revealed that the serial Ballon d'Or winner flat out refused to swap following Bayern’s 8-2 Champions League thrashing of Barca back in 2020.

However, former Manchester United player Angel Gomes has told a tale about how, not only did he manage to bag Messi's shirt, but that the former PSG man even asked for Gomes' shirt in return. Bayern full-back Davies divulged that he had tried to get his hands on the then-Barca man's shirt after Bayern's humiliation over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final.

The Canadian revealed that, although he tried to secure the shirt, his attempt all but fell flat saying, “Yeah, I asked for it, but I think he was a little upset. It’s OK, though. Next time, hopefully.”

Former United youngster Gomes has a very different tale when it comes to swapping shirts with Messi. The England U21 international now plays in France for Lille having spent time at United from 2017-2020 and he has spoken of how he came up against the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi when Lille met PSG in February 2022 - and what happened after he found the bravery to ask the Argentinian for his shirt after the game.

Gomes told Football Focus in May 2023: “It was just like a fanboy moment, I can't lie. [He] gave me his shirt, he took his T-shirt off and he gave it to me. And for me, I was like, 'All right, happy days', like cheers. And he was like, 'Wait, are you not giving me your shirt?"

"I was like, 'What, you want my shirt?!' He was like, 'Yeah', so I was like, 'All right'. From watching him on TV, watching videos of him actually playing, to playing against him and getting his shirt, it was surreal for me.”

The fact Gomes was able to land the Inter Miami man's shirt is something of a major coup with Messi stating in the past that Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane is the only player he has ever asked to swap shirts with.

It's been reported that Messi very rarely goes a game without an abundance of shirt swap requests, and talking to Argentinian television, Messi has said: “I don't ask for shirts, I usually swap them, but I asked [Zinedane] Zidane once. If there is an Argentine I swap it with him, but, unless someone asks me, I'm not asking anyone.”

When asked by the Miami Herald where Messi stores the limited amount of shirts he collects, with Angel Gomes' shirt also taking pride of place, he said: "I have them all saved in my house, in Barcelona, where I have all the important mementoes of my career."

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2024-06-10T13:06:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd