The astonishing number of Lionel Messi shirts Adidas make for every Argentina game - and why

The streets of Buenos Aires will be covered in fans wearing Lionel Messi shirts as they watch to see if their national captain can lead them to history with Argentina by becoming only the third side in World Cup history to win consecutive tournaments after Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.

Messi is set to feature in his third World Cup final when he comes up against Spain at the New York-New Jersey Stadium, with the Barcelona legend having the opportunity to surpass the iconic figure of Diego Maradona in terms of winners’ medals in this competition.

Should the 39-year-old lead his team to victory, it could be argued that it is his greatest ever achievement in the sport, and it would be no surprise if he would want to frame the jersey he wore in the final; however, there are set to be plenty of individuals who would love to possess that shirt if this outcome comes to pass.

Messi has long been seen as one of the best footballers to ever grace the sport, and opposition players would love to possess a jersey of the Argentine legend.

Now, Emi Martinez has explained to Ben Foster on Prime Video that for this very reason there are around 200 shirts with Messi printed on the back made per game to be handed out to players and staff upon request.

According to Emi Martinez, Adidas makes about 200 shirts for Messi per game, because almost everyone asks for his shirt and he has to give as many people as he can. https://t.co/ylatuTvk7v pic.twitter.com/ufSAKppI5r

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The Argentina goalkeeper said: “Every time I go for the national team, ‘Please give me a Messi shirt.’ They all just, you know, have Messi shirts.

“I asked the kitman when I went to the national team, 'How many shirts of Messi do you need to give out a game?’

“He said, 'Mate, we do 200 or 300 shirts per game for Messi.’

“We had two games, international; they made 650 Messi shirts.

“Because he knows sponsorships, players, staff, and even the managers. Everyone needs or wants a Messi shirt.”

Foster appeared genuinely stunned by this revelation, having previously believed a Messi shirt to be a rare commodity; however, through this explanation it appears that almost everyone involved with an international side that has faced Argentina has received a shirt with his name on the back.

Should Spain lose the final to Argentina, it would be interesting to see if their squad and management team would want to have a Messi shirt should the 39-year-old play a key part in their defeat.