Lionel Messi lends luxury R256m private jet to Argentina teammates
- Lionel Messi has left Spain for Argentina as international duty calls
- The Barcelona captain was joined in his private jet by his Europe-based teammates
- Messi’s luxurious £12 million (R256 million) private jet is fitted with an exotic kitchen and two bathrooms
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Lionel Messi offered to lend his luxurious £12 million (over R256 million) private jet fitted with a kitchen and two bathrooms to teammates as they headed for international duty.
The Barcelona captain offered to allow his colleagues in the Argentine national team to return home in grand style ahead of their two World Cup qualifiers during this international break.
Argentina will take on Bolivia and Ecuador as they begin their quest for qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup with both matches scheduled for October 8 and October 13 respectively.
As a result of the coronavirus spread, the player took no chances as he was joined in his private jet by Nicolas Otamendi, Juan Foyth, Lucas Ocampos Marcos Acuna and Paulo Dybala.
The five players are also expected to join the player on the return trip to Spain after they have prosecuted both matches – this in a bid to avoid airport interaction.
SunSport is reporting that the 33-year-old first used the £12 million Gulfstream V jet in 2018 after he had leased it for an Argentine company for some years.
It was gathered that the plane once had a technical fault earlier in 2020 and was forced to make emergency landing in Brussels.
Source: Getty Images
The jet boasts a number of amazing features which includes its own kitchen, two bathrooms and seats for 16 people.
The chairs can even be folded up and turned into eight beds so the players can get some much-needed shut-eye on the long flight to South America.
According to SunSport, the multiple Ballon d’Or winner has names of his family members crested on the jet with wife Antonella, plus children Thiago, Ciro and Mateo all having their names etched on the steps.
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za earlier reported that Lionel is Messi is the best footballer in the 21st century ahead of his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo, according to the Independent.
The news outlet broke down its selection process by having each player assigned a number of points determined by their rank.
The likes of former Barcelona trio Xavi Hernandez, Ronaldinho and Andres Iniesta completed the top five rankings.
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Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Mxolisi Mngadi (Editor) Mxolisi Mngadi is an entertainment reporter. He graduated in 2002 from Damelin with a Diploma in Journalism, majoring in African and International Studies, Journalism and Electronic Media. He then started his journalism career at the Daily Sun newspaper, went on to The Citizen, and worked as a senior reporter at News24. He has been a writer for more than 15 years.
