Lionel Messi grants referee’s unusual request after Inter Miami win

LIONEL MESSI had a very unusual interraction with a referee in the MLS.

Messi, 37, has done and seen it all throughout his glittering 21-year career.

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The star forward has won eight Ballon d’Or awards, four Champions League trophies, 10 LaLiga titles, two Copa America honours and the World Cup.

And the Argentina international has played all around the world against the best football has to offer.

But perhaps nothing could prepare the Inter Miami superstar for what he encountered on Thursday in the sub-zero temperatures of Kansas.

Messi and co visited Sporting KC at the freezing Children’s Mercy Park in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The visitors braved the awful cold, with temperatures that went as low as -22C.

The Barcelona legend led Javier Mascherano’s side to a 1-0 win thanks to his winner on 56 minutes, which marked his first official goal of the calendar year.

Messi’s performance finally put to bed the cliche theory of whether he could produce the same magic on a “cold Tuesday night in Stoke” as he shone bright against Sporting.

According to ESPN, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain star then received a very unusual request from the referee.

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Mexican official Marco Antonio Ortiz Nara approached Messi after the full-time whistle.

And Nara asked the Argentine great for his SHIRT as a memento – a tradition usually reserved for players.

The MLS superstar agreed but passed on his prized No10 jersey backstage in the dressing room later on.

That wasn’t because of the freezing temperatures, but rather that the Inter Miami star wanted to avoid any potential controversy on the field.