Messi congratulates Cassano on birth of second son

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has congratulated Antonio Cassano on the birth of his second child.

The Argentinian ace was quite flattered that the Inter striker  named his son in his honour, and promptly sent him a text message offering his congratulations.

Cassano’s wife Carolina gave birth to the couple’s second child Monday evening, and the Italian international had expressed that his admiration for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner was the inspiration behind his son’s name.

“I named him Lionel because I’m a massive fan of the best player in history”, he stated in an interview with TV show Undici.

Widely hailed as the best player in the world and perhaps even of all time, Messi became the first player to win the Ballon d’Or four times in January 2013. Last year alone, he broke numerous records, including becoming the first player to score five times in a Champions League match, the most goals scored in a calendar year—91, and the most goals scored in one  La Liga season—50.

He is also only the second player to become the UEFA Champions League top scorer four consecutive years running and with Barcelona still in the tournament, may be able to beat another of legendary striker Gerd Mueller’s records and make it five in five.