A Spanish YouTuber tried to trick the system by attempting to get Barcelona legend Lionel Messi’s name on the back of his Real Madrid shirt, but he was blocked thanks to a new rule.
One Real Madrid fan claims he made his club ban Lionel Messi’s name on the back of their new shirts.
In a video on his channel, Spanish YouTuber Grefg recalled the moment he was ordering the new Real Madrid away kit and typed ‘Messi’ in the space where you can choose a name. Automatically, a warning popped up that said: “Apologies, our Personalisation Policy does not allow the use of this name.”
Grefg didn’t give up that easily and tried to trick the website by putting the Argentinean’s surname in again but with the letters separated – ‘M E S S I’ – which was permitted. However, the online shop took notice of the order and cancelled it, refunding the money and ultimately banning Messi’s name in all forms being printed on their shirts.
After getting his money back, Grefg did not give up and tried again, this time live with his fans on Twitch. He entered ‘M E S S I’ once again, but this time the website clearly showed the ban, due to the personalisation policy.
The YouTuber said: “You could say that we have made them put a new restriction on the website and now they won’t let you order it even if you write M E S S I with spaces.”
During his time at Barcelona, Messi scored 26 goals and assisted 14 times against Real Madrid, winning 20 games against them as well as claiming 10 La Liga titles. The silky star was a continuous thorn in Madrid’s side in his youth and prime, scoring a hat-trick in one El Clasico back in 2007 to draw the game 3-3.
The rivalry between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was at its peak when the pair were playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, with the Argentinean coming out on top multiple times. One El Clasico that comes to mind when it came to Messi’s domination of his rival club would be the away match at the Bernabeu at the end of the 2013/14 season.
Messi was directly involved in all four of Barcelona’s goals as they won 4-3 and eventually won the La Liga title at the end of the season. Messi assisted midfielder Andres Iniesta first to fire them ahead, before a quick-fire double from Karim Benzema turned the game on its head.
Messi then cut inside the area and scored to draw the visitors level just before the break, with Ronaldo slotting away his penalty in the second half to put Madrid ahead. However, defender Sergio Ramos was shown a straight red card not long after and Messi secured the win for Barcelona with two penalties of his own.
So, it is not unfathomable to understand why Real Madrid’s online store has banned the printing of Messi onto their football strips – perhaps in a silent act of respect to themselves and Messi’s legacy at his former club.
