BARCELONA – Argentine footballer Lionel Messi gave away three Barcelona-signed shirts with his name and bib to the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech, in gratitude for sending 50,000 doses of his coronavirus vaccine to the CONMEBOL to be used in South American football competitions, including this summer’s Copa America.
The gesture of the Barcelona footballer was announced by Gonzalo Belloso, Deputy Secretary General of Football and Director of Development of CONMEBOL.
“Sinovac executives expressed their admiration for Lionel Messi, who willingly sent three shirts for them,” Belloso wrote on his Twitter account.
The arrival of these vaccines “is the best news that the family of South American football can receive”, the president of CONMEBOL, Alejandro Domínguez, commented on social media.
“It’s a huge step forward in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, but it doesn’t mean in any way that we’re going to lower our guard,” he added.
With these 50,000 doses, greater safety is guaranteed for players in the face of the celebration of the Copa America between June 11 and July 10 based in Argentina and Colombia after the competition had to be suspended for the year passed by the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same time, Messi’s gesture with CONMEBOL improves his relationship with the highest body in South American football, much affected after the Argentine footballer in the 2019 Copa America, outraged by what he considers refereeing errors that harmed their selection, ruled that they should not be part of “this corruption.”