Messi shirts feature in the museums of three clubs he never played for

Messi gave a Barcelona shirt to Rodolfo D'Onofrio, then president of River Plate, after the 2015 Club World Cup final between the two sides. It is among the items linking the player to clubs for which he never played.

Shirts connected to Messi are displayed in the museums of River Plate and Argentinos Juniors in Argentina, and Bayern Munich in Germany. At Bayern’s museum, his Barcelona shirt has been on display since 2013. He gave it to club legend Gerd Müller after surpassing Müller’s record for goals in a calendar year: Messi scored 91 in 2012, compared with Müller’s 85. It is the museum’s only non-German item.

The tributes take different forms. At River Plate, an official shirt signed by Lionel Messi, with a personal dedication, is displayed at the Monumental stadium. Argentinos Juniors’ museum holds a faithful replica of the number 17 shirt Messi wore in his first official match for Argentina’s youth team, against Paraguay in June 2004.

The presence of these shirts in the museums of River Plate, Argentinos Juniors and Bayern Munich reflects Messi’s influence beyond the clubs he played for: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.