Not Mikel, Moses Nor Iwobi : The Super Eagles Player Messi Handed His Jersey To

Published: June 28, 2018

Majority of the Super Eagles players were still licking their wounds after Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir blew the final whistle and forgot to collect a souvenir they would have cherished for the rest of their lives.

When the Argentina players made their way to the dressing room, Enyimba glovesman Ikechukwu Ezenwa approached unarguably the best player of his generation, if not the best to have played the beautiful game, Lionel Messi.

Images from DEPORTV showed Lionel Messi pulling off his jersey and handing it to Ezenwa while the Nigerian goalkeeper gave the striker his number one shirt.

Brighton & Hove defender Leon Balogun stated before the start of the 2018 World Cup the Super Eagles players won't just be keeping an eye on Messi during the game, but also on his jersey after the match when they players swap shirts.

Messi scored the opening goal by Argentina in the final Group D fixture vs Nigeria, shooting past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho in the 14th minute after Ever Banega sent a long ball upfield.

Ezenwa was in goal in Nigeria's last four World Cup qualifiers but was a non-playing substitute in all the three matches before the Super Eagles were eliminated from the ongoing tournament in Russia.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel