Lionel Messi lends a voice to children around the world who are ‘hidden victims’ of COVID-19

Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi took to social media platform Instagram urging his followers to donate and save lives amidst the COVID-19 crisis. The Argentine posted an emotional message along with a picture to shed light on an important matter.

It pertains to children all over the globe being severely affected by the coronavirus and that they are 'hidden victims' of the disease.

The message on Lionel Messi's post read,

"Did you know that boys and girls are the hidden victims of the coronavirus? During this difficult time for my country and the world, I support @unicefargentina so that more boys and girls receive adequate food and stay safe. Because they ALWAYS MATTER and every minute counts, support NOW at www.unicef.org.ar/dona."

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¿Sabías que los niños y las niñas son las víctimas ocultas del coronavirus? En este momento tan difícil para mi país y el mundo, me sumo a @unicefargentina para ayudar a que más chicos y chicas reciban una alimentación adecuada y no se enfermen. Porque IMPORTAN SIEMPRE y cada minuto cuenta, sumá AHORA tu apoyo en www.unicef.org.ar/dona ______________ Did you know that boys and girls are the hidden victims of the coronavirus? During this difficult time for my country and the world, I support @unicefargentina so that more boys and girls receive adequate food and stay safe. Because they ALWAYS MATTER and every minute counts, support NOW at www.unicef.org.ar/dona #ImportanSiempre #COVID19

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi) on May 30, 2020 at 9:53am PDT

Lionel Messi's past endeavours with UNICEF

The Argentine skipper has represented UNICEF for over ten years

Lionel Messi has served as the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since March 2010. The Argentina captain has done a great deal of work for the greater good since his appointment as the Goodwill Ambassador.

Upon being given this honour in 2010, Lionel Messi said,

"Football has given me a lot of joy and opportunities and I feel grateful to UNICEF for this chance to give support to children. I hope that in my role as a global Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF I will be able to support children who need our help."

And that is precisely what he has done with his latest post — urge his fans and other people to help make a difference by saving the lives of children.

Although a man of Lionel Messi's stature makes headlines regularly in the football world, he did so in 2016 for an emotional reason. Murtaza Ahmadi, a five-year-old Lionel Messi superfan gathered attention after a few inspiring images.

The child was pictured wearing what appeared to be a plastic bag as a shirt with blue and white stripes on it. Most importantly, it had Lionel Messi's name and iconic #10 on the back.

Lionel Messi, with the help of both UNICEF and Barcelona, helped bring this child's dream to life and sent across a set of exclusive memorabilia for his young fan. This included two autographed shirts and a signed football from the Argentine icon himself. The young boy, evidently ecstatic to have received such gifts from his idol was quoted by UNICEF saying,

"I love Messi, and my shirt says Messi loves me!"

Murtaza has the real thing now! #LeoMessi helped make his dream come true & gave him signed jerseys & a football. pic.twitter.com/ls6nUOdaBL
— UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) February 25, 2016

Although Lionel Messi couldn't be there to meet his fan in person, it was a heartwarming gesture from the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Barcelona have returned to full first-team training ahead of the LaLiga restart on June 8. Lionel Messi is fully fit and ready to help Barcelona maintain their two-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the league.