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29th Jun 2015

Messi saves life of Argentinian man kidnapped in Nigeria

Ben Kenyon

Is there no end to Lionel Messi’s abilities?

On the pitch it’s clear he’s pretty special…but he’s also pretty influential off it.

Just the mere mention of Messi’s name was enough to save the life of an Argentinian man kidnapped in Nigeria.

Santiago Lopez Menendez was captured by armed men in the West African nation. He was beaten violently by the gang who believed he was American.

That was until he uttered the name of Barcelona’s South American genius in desperation.

After that the kidnappers went easy on him and three days later (after a ransom was paid) he was released.

Mr Menendez then thanked Messi for saving his life in the Argentinian press.

Marvel, we think you’ve found your next comic book hero.

H/T Mirror