Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
The Argentine football federation have given this nurse who travelled to Wuhan to fight the coronavirus a Lionel Messi shirt for her son who idolises the star after she said it was she wanted as a reward for her work.
Chinese boy Lu Shu, 8, received a free Argentina Lionel Messi shirt along with a scarf, a towel, official pins and other objects from the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
The gifts come after his nurse mother Wu Yu travelled to the city of Wuhan to help patients shortly after the coronavirus outbreak, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.
COVID-19 was first discovered in the city of Wuhan which is located in the province of Hubei in central China.
Yu, who originally lives and works at Xiangya Hospital in the Hunan province located directly below Hubei, was asked what she wanted for International Women’s Day to thank her for her sacrifice.
International Women’s Day is celebrated every 8th March and is considered as a focal point for women’s rights around the world.
Yu answered “a shirt from Messi would definitely encourage my boy to become a member of the national youth” team.
The AFA Chinese office heard the nurse’s request and contacted her saying: “After hearing your wish, we are going to send you a No 10 Messi jersey.
“We hope your son can have a brighter future after wearing his idol’s shirt!”
Yu was seemingly surprised by the gesture saying: “I didn’t expect this wish to come true because I just wanted to encourage my son.”
Local media report Yu has been in the Wuhan-based Union Hospital helping treat critically ill patients since 7th February and went there to set a good example for her son, showing him that hardships should not stop people from chasing their dreams.
Yu spoke with local media and said she contacts her son through video calls to tell him “I am safe here” and reminds him “to overcome difficulties like I do.”
Yu added her son has played football since he was five years old and became a Messi fan during the 2018 World Cup saying he wanted to become a self-disciplined and versatile athlete like Messi.
There have been a reported 80,894 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in mainland China claiming the lives of 3,237 lives as it is the most affected country by the virus after its discovery in December 2019.
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