The Pope presented with Man Utd shirt signed by 'The Butcher' Lisandro Martinez

Pope Francis was presented with a Manchester United shirt signed by centre-back Lisandro Martinez.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and a range of religious leaders met with the Pope on Thursday to pledge a commitment to tackle climate change.

The group, led by the Dean of Manchester and the Bishop of Salford, had a private audience with the Pope at the Vatican, where they discussed the work that was already going on in Manchester and pledged to take further action.

Burnham said via Yahoo: "This is the first time that all the faith leaders of Greater Manchester have come together with civic leaders to agree our pledge for a greener Greater Manchester region.”

The Manchester mayor added that being at the Vatican to witness "the historic moment our faith and civic leaders make our commitment to the Holy Father" gave him "great pride".

However, the meeting also made headlines for another reason altogether.

Pope presented with Man Utd shirt

Burnham presented the Pope with a framed United shirt signed by the spiritual leader’s Argentinian compatriot Martinez, who is affectionately known as “the Butcher” among the United fan base.

Ahead of the meeting, Burnham tweeted: “Good morning Lisandro Martinez

“We are about to give your gift to the Holy Father!”

Moreover, Chris Trott, the British Ambassador to the Holy See, said in a tweet: “I think [the Pope] particularly appreciated this gift, presented by Andy Burnham and the Lord Mayor.”

The Pope is an ardent football fan, having supported Argentinian Primera Division side, San Lorenzo.

Indeed, Oscar Lucchini, an architect and fellow San Lorenzo fan who gave the Pope his club membership card back in 2009, told Reuters in 2013: "He says he lives in a permanent state of suffering for San Lorenzo."