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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Vargas tells Messi shirt swap story</li><li>Player kept unwashed jersey under pillow</li><li>Player's mother tried to wash shirt</li></ul>

‘I slept with a dirty Lionel Messi shirt for months!’ - Former La Liga player reveals insane obsession with Inter Miami star and claims he wouldn’t let his mum wash match-worn Barcelona jersey

LaLiga

Celta Vigo

Barcelona

Former Espanyol winger Matias Vargas is certainly not the only player to be starstruck while facing <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/player/l-messi/c5ryhn04g9goikd0blmh83aol" target="_blank">Messi</a>, although it's fair to say he took his obsession with his fellow countryman to new levels. After he swapped shirts with Messi following <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/team/barcelona/agh9ifb2mw3ivjusgedj7c3fe" target="_blank">Barcelona's</a> 2-2 draw with Espanyol in January 2020, he kept Messi's unwashed shirt next to his pillow for months.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">"Dormí con una camiseta de Messi al ladito de la almohada como dos o tres meses. Sucia, así como estaba. Jugué contra él y las cambiamos. Mi vieja me decía 'dejame lavarla'. Yo le contestaba que no la tocara". 🗣️ Monito Vargas, en Fox Sports. <a href="https://t.co/8yuL7oePL6">pic.twitter.com/8yuL7oePL6</a>— VarskySports (@VarskySports) <a href="https://twitter.com/VarskySports/status/1734672034628542810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
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WHAT HAPPENED?

Vargas, now playing for Shanghai Port FC, came off the bench in the second half as Espanyol held Barca to a 2-2 draw. Barcelona's second club eventually finished rock bottom of La Liga, but the young winger will certainly never forget that season.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Speaking to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gh8-ay77uw" target="_blank">Fox Sports</a>, Vargas said: "I slept with a Messi shirt next to my pillow for two or three months. Dirty, as it was. I played against him and we changed them. My mother told me 'let me wash it'. I told her not to touch it."

WHAT VARGAS SAID

Vargas helped Shanghai Port to win a second Chinese Super League title last month, but it looks unlikely that he will ever add to his two senior Argentina caps. Messi, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/lionel-messi-mania-changed-everything-mls-adapt-new-era-inter-miami-superstar/blt664b4686db5d4b51" target="_blank">who won the MLS Leagues Cup with Inter Miami</a> in August, will look to lead his side to an improved MLS showing in 2024 after they failed to make the playoffs in 2023.

WHAT NEXT FOR VARGAS AND MESSI?

‘I slept with a dirty Lionel Messi shirt for months!’ - Former La Liga player reveals insane obsession with Inter Miami star and claims he wouldn’t let his mum wash match-worn Barcelona jersey | Goal.com Nigeria

A former La Liga player has admitted he was so obsessed with Lionel Messi that he kept the star&apos;s unwashed shirt under his pillow for months.