Sport
Matthew Champion
Aug 10, 2015
![Lionel Messi really did donate hundreds of thousands to Unicef](https://www.indy100.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=28097952&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C85%2C0%2C85)
For some reason one of the internet's favourite fake story tropes is footballers making generous charitable donations.
Notwithstanding the fact that footballers and clubs do a lot for charity, Mesut Ozil did not give his World Cup winnings to the people of Gaza, and Cristiano Ronaldo did not give £5million to Save the Children's Nepal earthquake appeal.
But here's one story that is definitely true: Lionel Messi did donate 4.5million Argentinean pesos to Unicef in Argentina, through his charitable foundation.
The tweet, when translated, reads:
[Argentinean actor] Nico Vazquez brought a surprise from the Lionel Messi Foundation, a AR$4.5million grant to contribute to the work of Unicef.
Messi also appeared in a video saying it was a "pleasure" to be working with Unicef.
France Football
More: Starstruck opponent asks Lionel Messi for a selfie... on the pitch
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