Messi bids farewell to Pope Francis: "Thank you for making the world a better place"

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi expressed his sorrow at the death on Monday of Pope Francis in a message on his Instagram account in which he said that his compatriot made the world "a better place". "A different Pope, close, Argentinian.... QEPD (May he rest in peace) Pope Francis," the Argentine star said.

"Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you," he added. The footballer's words are accompanied by a photograph of him with Pope Francis in 2013, when the Argentina national team met the pontiff shortly after his election as head of the Catholic Church.

During the reception, which was held before the Albiceleste played a friendly against the Argentine national team in honour of the new pontiff, Messi received a small olive tree from the hands of Francis, a gift for the Argentine national team. The meeting touched the Argentinian striker, who 8 years later gave the Pope an autographed shirt of PSG, the team he played for.

After receiving the shirt, Pope Francis honoured the Argentine star. "Thank you for the closeness, thank you for the testimony and that you didn't go to your head," Francis said in an interview with the Argentine news agency “Télam” in 2021.

Pope Francis died on Monday at 07.35 am (05.35 GMT) at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, after more than two months of respiratory problems that kept him hospitalised for 38 days in the Italian capital.