Newell’s Old Boys star wins the race to get Lionel Messi’s jersey after friendly with Inter Miami
Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami played out a 1-1 draw against the Argentine’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys at the DRV PNK Stadium in Miami on Thursday, February 15. Shanyder Borgelin scored for the hosts in the 64th minute before Franco Martin Diaz equalised in the 83rd minute.
After the game, there was understandably a race between the Newell’s Old Boys players to get Lionel Messi’s jersey from the game. Midfielder Esteban Fernandez ended up winning the race and got his hands on the icon’s jersey.
The 22-year-old midfielder also reposted a story shared by his mother on his Instagram account with him holding Messi’s shirt.
Esteban Fernandez is currently on loan at Newell’s Old Boys from River Plate and has made just one Copa de la Liga appearance. He played the second half of their friendly clash against Inter Miami on Thursday.
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Meanwhile, Lionel Messi played 60 minutes in the clash against his boyhood club. He played for Newell’s youth side before moving to Barcelona in 2000 and the rest is history. He went on to become one of the greatest players of all time, having won numerous accolades, including a record eight Ballons d’Or.
Messi now plies his trade for Inter Miami, having joined them last summer after leaving PSG as a free agent. He helped them win the Leagues Cup but couldn’t help them qualify for the MLS playoffs.
The Herons played seven friendly games in preparation of their upcoming season but won just one of them – a 4-1 win over Hong Kong XI. They will hope to improve their performance when the competitive season starts next week.