Lionel Messi Sends Autographed Jersey to Ukraine Armed Forces Commander; Receives Amusing Gift in Return

Inter Miami teammates Lionel Messi and Serhiy Kryvtsov are comrades first. The 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, according to Kryvtsov, donated his national team jersey to United24, an official crowdfunding platform in Ukraine aimed at rebuilding homes and structures damaged due to war. And now, it turns out Messi has sent his autographed jersey to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the head of Ukrainian armed forces, after a special intervention. But not to be outdone, Zaluzhnyi sent the soccer legend a special gift of his own.

Given Messi’s success and status in world soccer, it’s no surprise that big names across the world look for a moment with him or at the very least get their hands on his jersey signed by him. Well, it turns out Valery Zaluzhnyi was one of those who ended up receiving the jersey of the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner. In response, the commander was quick to send the Inter Miami forward a copy of TIMES magazine from 2022, signed by the commander-in-chief himself.

Interestingly, this was a 2022 edition that had Zaluzhnyi as the cover picture. This particular edition focused on how his leadership enabled Ukraine to defend itself against the Russian force.

But how did this unlikely story of the exchange of gifts come about? Well, there were other two characters at play. One was Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami colleague and the other was a Ukrainian philanthropist and acquaintance of Zaluzhnyi.

How Serhiy Kryvtsov helped his army chief get a Messi shirt

An acquaintance of the commander, Yuri Sapronov gave an account of how Messi’s shirt was obtained in a Facebook story.  Yuri Sapronov contacted the Inter Miami player and thus reached the training of the American team.“I handed Valerii Fedorovych (Zaluzhnyi – ed.) a T-shirt from a game, with Messi’s signature. When I was in Miami, I naturally attended Inter Miami games, and thanks to our Serhiy Kryvtsov (Messi’s Ukrainian teammate in Inter Miami – ed.), I, of course, made it to their training. Leo respectfully signed,” Yuri Sapronov said according to Ukrinform. Messi signed the jersey and wrote “Valery” on it before it was sent to Ukraine’s army chief.

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Serhiy Kryvtsov, the Ukrainian defender joined Inter Miami in January 2023 and has been a key man since. Here also he played a key role in bringing the two worlds together.  It remains one among the many stories where soccer and the impact of its icons transcend all barriers.

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