Lionel Messi asked to swap shirts with only one Real Madrid player and broke golden El Clasico rule to get it

Lionel Messi has only ever asked one player to swap shirts with him during his storied career.

Having won dozens of club trophies, the World Cup and a record eight Ballon d’Ors, Messi is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time.

Therefore when players get the opportunity to play against Messi, they will often take the chance to ask the Argentine to swap shirts at the end of the match.

While Messi often obliges, he has revealed that there is only one player that he took it upon himself to approach to ask for swap shirts, and he broke a long-standing El Clasico rule in the process.

After competing against each other in the biggest competitions in football for decades, the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is unlike any other in the sport.

Their annual meetings in La Liga each year are perhaps the most highly anticipated matches on the football calendar, as the best players in the world face off wearing the shirts of two of the biggest clubs in the world.

The rivalry between the two sides is so fierce, that both clubs have made it clear that both Barcelona and Real Madrid established a rule that players cannot be seen to swap shirts with one of their rivals once the game is finished.

However, Messi has admitted that he once broke this rule when he asked to swap shirts with Real Madrid and France legend Zinedine Zidane.

Speaking to TyC Sports back in 2017, Messi admitted: “I don't ask for shirts, I usually swap them, but I asked Zidane once.

“If there is an Argentine I swap it with him, but, unless someone asks me, I'm not asking anyone.”

Zinedine Zidane only played against Lionel Messi once in 2005. (Image: Getty)

Zidane is considered by many to be one of the best midfielders of all time after enjoying an incredible career at both club and international level, winning league titles in Italy and Spain with Juventus and Real, as well as the World Cup in 1998.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that Messi seized the opportunity to swap shirts with him once the pair faced off for the first, and only time in 2005.

In an interview with the Miami Herald in 2023, Messi revealed more details about where he keeps the shirts he has collected throughout his career, saying: “I have them all saved in my house, in Barcelona, where I have all the important mementos of my career.

“I simply exchange with whoever happens to be there at that moment.”

He continued: “I have had a chance to play against teams that had Argentine players, and generally we swap shirts, but I also exchanged shirts with players in Europe - players who I knew from before… it's always nice to change shirts with friends or players I know.”