Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are rivals on the pitch but the two legends are united in giving aid so health workers can best fight the coronavirus outbreak. In Spain and Portugal, Messi and Ronaldo are making use of their football fortunes to stop the pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives and infected hundreds of thousands.
Messi has donated €1 million to the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, which the institution intends to use in the discovery of a treatment for the spreading disease. The hospital has likewise indicated that the money received will be used on research, which hopefully will accelerate the formulation of vaccine for COVID-19.
According to Bleacher Report, Messi's generosity came in the wake of the donation made by his former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola. The Catalan had earlier pledged to fund the works of some medical institutions in Catalonia, which is home to the Manchester City team manager.
The Argentine helping Spain's efforts to combat the novel coronavirus is not surprising. As the report noted, Messi is not a native of the nation but he practically grew in Barcelona, where he moved to play football as a 13-year-old.
For his part, Ronaldo partnered with his agent Jorge Mendes to make €1 million available to Centro Hospitalar Universitario do Porto in Portugal. The money will be used to fund the hospital's three intensive care units and to thanks Ronaldo and Mendes, the institution said the units will be named after the football figures, according to Sports Illustrated.
It is hoped that the Portuguese's kindness will make a dent on the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus, which thankfully has not caused high casualty in the country. Lisbon has so far reported of only 2,300 confirmed cases with over 30 deaths.
But the situation in Spain is more overwhelming. The confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country are nearing 40,000 and around 3,000 people have already perished. The government has already announced that in order to minimize the spread of the killer virus, the state of emergency currently in effect will b extended by another 15 days.
Messi himself is doing his part to limit the likelihood of getting infected. The Barca captain announced last week that he is on self-quarantine and called on the people to the same because it is the right thing to do.
"Health needs to be the main concern. It is an exceptional moment and we need to follow the instructions given from health organizations and public authorities. That is the only way to effectively fight it [COVID-19]," Messi wrote in a social media post.
