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Messi Donates 500,000 Euros to Fight Against COVID-19 in Argentina - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi made a donation of 500,000 euros ($540,000) to help combat the spread of the coronavirus in his native Argentina, the media reported on Monday.
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According to the TyC Sports news outlet, Messi donated money to the Garrahan Foundation, which will distribute medical equipment, including respirators and ventilators, to healthcare facilities in the South American country.

In April, Lionel Messi called healthcare workers heroes protecting people from the coronavirus.

"Yesterday the World Health Worker Week came to an end and, together with UNICEF, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the work they do. For continuing, despite everything, their noble commitment to caring for pregnant women, and keeping children and adolescents protected", Messi wrote in an Instagram post.

At the end of March, the football superstar and the rest of the Barca team agreed to cut their salaries by 70 percent and to make contributions to the club’s staff and employees so that they would be able to earn their full salaries during the lockdown in Spain.

Lionel Messi is an Argentine forward who plays and captains both Spanish club Barcelona and his home country's national team.

As of 11 May, Argentina has confirmed 6,265 COVID-19 cases and 314 coronavirus-related deaths, the national Health Ministry count shows.

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