He was world champion with Messi, now ex-girlfriend sells his jerseys as revenge

The midfielder is in serious trouble and could lose valuable items.

29/02/2024, 03:12 PM +00:00

On December 18, 2022, Argentina's national team defeated France in a penalty shootout and won its third World Cup, after successes in 1978 and 1986. This was a historic moment for soccer fans, not only because that match is considered one of the best finals in the history of the sport, but also because it was a dream come true for Lionel Messi. The Argentine forward had tried to win soccer's most important tournament four times, each time he had failed, and this was his last chance.

Obviously Leo did not do it alone. He needed the help of coach Lionel Scaloni, who put together an ideal team for his star and surrounded him with players compatible with him such as Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis MacAllister, Enzo Fernandez, Angel Di Maria and Julian Alvarez. And there were also other top players who played a less important role but contributed their talents when needed.

One of them was Exequiel Palacios. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder played three games at Qatar 2022: vs Mexico in the group stage (2-0), vs Australia in the round of 16 (2-1) and vs Croatia in the semifinals (3-0). So, after winning the title, he had at least three jerseys with the number 14 to keep as a valuable treasure. But now he has lost one of them, and things could get even worse.

In an interview with an Argentine TV channel, Yesica Frias, the player's ex-girlfriend told of the problems she is having with Palacios over the debts of the mortgage on an apartment where she lives: "Exequiel told me he wasn't going to pay what was owing because he didn't know if he'd get to keep the flat or not. I'm only asking him to sign the divorce and give me what I'm due for the things we did together", she began explaining.

The solution she found

Since Palacios refused to pay the debt, Frias made a drastic decision and sold one of the jerseys that the midfielder wore in Qatar 2022. She even took a photo with the buyer. "I'm going to auction off everything to pay for the property if I have to. I have some shirts which Exequiel gave me and there's some other very valuable things like his World Cup winner's medal," she explained.