Lionel Messi helps save the life of an Argentinian man kidnapped by Nigerian bandits

Lionel Messi: now saving lives, too

When Santiago Lopez Menendez was snatched in Nigeria, there was one thing that made his captors go easy on him – saying the name of Barcelona’s little genius

Santiago Lopez Menendez

Lionel Messi’s football genius isn’t just great to watch – it’s also now helping save lives.

Santiago Lopez Menendez is a young Argentinian scientist who works in Nigeria. On 24th June, as he was heading out to work in a field, he was kidnapped by a group of armed men.

Thankfully, he was released unharmed three days later, after a ransom was paid. However, it wasn’t just the money which saved his life. Menendez has told the press in Argentina that Lionel Messi is one of the reasons he’s still alive.

His captors were initially convinced Menendez was American, which he believes was the reason they were being particularly violent towards him.

Remarkble. Lionel Messi – saving lives… without even realising it.

Menendez was desperately trying to tell them that he was in fact South American, but they spoke no English. Eventually, he resorted to simply shouting:

“Messi! Messi! Messi!”

Incredibly, Menendez says it worked, and his kidnappers went easy on him from that point on.

Credit: mirror.co.uk