‘We are about to give your gift to the Holy Father!’: Mayor Andy Burnham presents Pope Francis with signed Lisandro Martinez Manchester United shirt during a trip to The Vatican
- The Mayor met Pope Francis to pledge a commitment to tackling climate change
- Martinez won the World Cup with Argentina, the country the Pope was born in
- The shirt also carried a message that read ‘Your holiness, with much love, Licha’
Andy Burnham presented the Pope with a signed Lisandro Martinez Manchester United shirt during a trip to The Vatican on Thursday.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, along with religious leaders, met Pope Francis to pledge a commitment to tackling climate change.
Centre-back Martinez won the Qatar World Cup with Argentina, the same country that Pope Francis was born in.
During the private audience that included the Bishop of Salford and the Dean of Manchester, Burnham gifted the framed jersey to the pontiff.
The shirt also carried a personal message from Martinez that read ‘Su Santidad, Con mucho cariño, LM.’, translating to ‘Your holiness, with much love, Licha’.
Andy Burnham presented the Pope with a signed Lisandro Martinez Manchester United shirt
Martinez won the World Cup with Argentina, the same country that Pope Francis was born in
The Labour politician said the meeting gave him ‘great pride’ and described it as a ‘historic moment’, according to the BBC.
‘This is the first time that all the faith leaders of Greater Manchester have come together with civic leaders to agree our pledge for a greener Greater Manchester region,’ he said.
Earlier in the day, Burnham tweeted: ‘Good morning @LisandrMartinez. We are about to give your gift to the Holy Father!’
The 25-year-old, who is nicknamed ‘The Butcher’, followed boss Erik ten Hag from Ajax to Old Trafford in the summer for £55million.
The defender underwent successful surgery on his broken metatarsal on Monday.
The World Cup winner fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during last week’s Europa League draw with Sevilla.
He has been ruled out for the rest of the season as the injury usually takes six to eight weeks to heal.
Martinez wrote on Instagram last week: ‘Not the way I imagined what’s been a very special season would end, but sometimes we face obstacles along the way that we have to overcome to make us stronger and we learn from them. I know that I’ll be back very soon to go for more.
‘In the meantime, I’ll continue to support all my team-mates to achieve our objectives.
‘The number of messages and support I’ve received has been amazing, they’re giving me strength and encouragement at this moment. Many, many thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart.’
The centre-back, 25, underwent successful surgery on his broken metatarsal on Monday
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