Shawdesh Desk:

Lionel Messi paid a heartfelt tribute to Diego Maradona through revealing a Newell’s Old Boys jersey under his Barcelona shirt after scoring against Osasuna on Sunday.

Legendary Argentine footballer Maradona passed away at the age of 60 last Wednesday suffering a heart attack at his home in Buenos Aires following a surgery on a brain blood clot a few weeks earlier.

Maradona’s untimely death brought a pall of gloom in the football world, with three days of mourning back in his country, and Messi seemed emotional throughout Sunday’s game.

Earlier, both teams observed a minute’s applause for the two-time World Cup winner, during which Messi looked close to tears.

The 33-year-old superstar was clearly eager to score in honour of his compatriot and finally netted the fourth and final goal of Barca’s resounding 4-0 victory in the 73^rd minute with a strike his countryman would have been proud of.

Upon doing so, he briefly celebrated with his teammates before taking off his Barcelona shirt and revealing a Newell’s Old Boys jersey underneath.

The kit was the same one worn by Maradona during his brief stint at the club in the 1993/94 season, with Messi having played for a short time as a kid at Newell’s before moving to Barcelona.

He also imitated Maradona’s celebration, pointing both hands to the sky, albeit he was shown a yellow card by the referee for removing his Barcelona shirt.

After Maradona’s death, Messi wrote on his Instagram to his countryman that, “It is a very sad day for all Argentines and for football. He is leaving us but he is not going, because Diego is eternal.”

“I will hold close all the beautiful moments I have lived with him and I want to take this time to send my most sincere condolences to all his family and friends. RIP,” he stated.