Messi, San Lorenzo club bid farewell to football fan Pope Francis

Argentine football great Lionel Messi thanked Pope Francis on Monday for "making the world a better place" as the late pontiff's favourite club, San Lorenzo, hailed his decades-long "passion" for the team.

"RIP Pope Francis," Messi wrote on Instagram following the death of his fellow countryman -- the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere.

Recommended For You

UAE minister Reem Al Hashimy appointed to White House's Gaza Executive Board

Indonesia finds one body from surveillance plane wreckage; passenger count revised to 10

UAE President to begin working visit to India on January 19

Look: 'End-of-Rajab crescent' photographed in Abu Dhabi

Reza Pahlavi confident Iran rulers to fall; Trump holds off despite claiming 'help on way'

 

"Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you," the footballer said in a post with a photo of him with the pope.

San Lorenzo, meanwhile, adorned its home page with a large photo of a smiling pope under the club's blue-and-red striped emblem, and the words: "Goodbye forever, Holy Father!" 

"An honorary member of our club, his passion for San Lorenzo always moved us especially, and it unites us in constant prayer for his soul," the team said in a statement dotted with photos of the pontiff holding, or posing with, San Lorenzo regalia.

It also paid tribute to Francis as "a thoughtful, open-minded, cultured man completely committed to his convictions and worldview."

The pope has followed San Lorenzo -- founded by a priest in 1908 -- since childhood, when he was known as Jorge Bergoglio.

A card-carrying club member, as archbishop, he celebrated mass in the team chapel in Buenos Aires for several years to mark San Lorenzo's anniversary.

Several jerseys of his beloved San Lorenzo were displayed at the Vatican when he became pope.

Last year, a delegation led by club president Marcelo Moretti visited Pope Francis and proposed naming the team's future stadium after him.

"Moved, the Holy Father accepted without hesitation," the club said. Construction is to begin this year.

Once asked to pick between Argentine greats Messi and Maradona as the greatest player ever, the pope opted for a third option: Brazilian star Pele, who he described as "a man of heart."

From Argentine compatriots Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis received the greatest stars of football at the Vatican, signing dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.

He often recounted playing as a young boy on the streets of Buenos Aires, using a ball made of rags.

While admitting he was "not among the best" and that "he had two left feet", he often played as goalkeeper, which he said was a good way of learning how to respond to "dangers that could arrive from anywhere".

His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers.

"It was romantic football," he recalled.

He maintained his membership even after becoming pope -- and caused a minor uproar when he received a membership card from rivals Boca Juniors as part of a Vatican educational partnership.

Football is often compared to a religion for its fans, and Pope Francis held numerous giant masses in football stadiums during trips abroad.

His enthusiam for football said UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin on Monday bore "witness to a joyful spirit and his ability to connect with people through warmth and a sense of shared humanity."