Lionel Messi at centre of new Real Madrid rule as 'ban issued on fans'

A Real Madrid fan has claimed he made his club ban Lionel Messi’s name from ever being printed on the back of their new shirts by trying to cheat the system. Spanish YouTuber Grefg shared in a video that he was attempting to customise the latest Real Madrid away jersey with ‘Messi’ as the name on the back.

As he tried to click enter, an error message appeared that read: “Apologies, our Personalisation Policy does not allow the use of this name.” Grefg wasn’t deterred just yet and tried a little workaround by spacing out the letters in the box – ‘M E S S I’ – which was initially allowed.

However, the Real Madrid online store spotted the order and cancelled it, refunding the payment and placing a ban on Messi’s name in any form on their merchandise. Grefg tried once more to place the order using the spaced surname live to his fans on Twitch, but it was blocked immediately due to the new policy.

The YouTuber said: “You could say that we have made them put a new restriction on the website and now they won’t let you order it even if you write M E S S I with spaces.”

Throughout his legendary tenure at Barcelona, Messi scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists in matches against Real Madrid, winning 20 games and clinching 10 La Liga crowns. The tricky forward was a constant pain in Madrid’s side throughout the years, scoring a hat-trick in one El Clasico game back in 2007 to draw the game 3-3.

The rivalry between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was at its most popular when the pair were playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, as the World Cup winner came out on top on many occasions. One El Clasico that stands out in terms of Messi’s dominance over his rival team is an away fixture at the Bernabeu during the tail end of the 2013/14 season.

Messi played a pivotal role in all four of Barcelona’s goals as they won 4-3 and ultimately clinched the La Liga title that season. Messi set up midfielder Andres Iniesta to put them ahead before a brace from Karim Benzema flipped the game on its head.

Messi then weaved into the box and netted to bring the visitors level just prior to half-time, with Ronaldo converting his penalty in the second half to give Madrid the advantage. However, defender Sergio Ramos received a straight red card shortly after and Messi sealed the victory for Barcelona with two penalties of his own.

Therefore, it’s not hard to see why Real Madrid’s online store has prohibited the printing of Messi onto their football kits – perhaps as a quiet act of respect to themselves and Messi’s legacy at his former club.