West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is known for her simplicity. For years, the Trinamool Congress supremo has been seen wearing handloom sarees at public events and rallies. Now, imagine her in a blue and red striped Barcelona football club jersey! That too, with the iconic number 10 at the back. Well, it might just turn reality, thanks to club captain and legend Lionel Messi. One of the best footballers on the planet, Messi has sent a special gift for the West Bengal chief minister with ‘DIDI’ written at the back for successfully organising FIFA Under 17 World Cup last year.
The jersey also carries a message for her: “Best wishes for my friend Didi from Lionel Messi”. The jersey was sent by Messi through Barcelona Legends Juliano Belletti and Jari Litmanen who came to India to play a friendly match against Bengal’s own Mohun Bagan.
Here is the jersey:
They handed over the jersey to the Football Next Foundation organisers after the match. The foundation shared the image of the jersey on its Facebook page with a caption: “FC Barcelona legends Juliano Belletti and Jari Litmanen handing over FC Barcelona Jersey to Kaushik Moulik, Founder, Football Next Foundation, signed by Lionel Messi for our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with a message for her saying “Best Wishes for my Friend Didi from Lionel Messi.”
The number 10 jersey has been worn for Barcelona by football legends including Diego Maradona, Romario and Ronaldinho before Lionel Messi.
Messi had come to Kolkata in 2011 for a match between Argentina and Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium.