Just hours before reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain host Spain's Barcelona in the third round of the UEFA Champions League league phase on Tuesday evening, it was revealed that memorabilia belonging to former Barcelona and PSG star Lionel Messi had been stolen from a store in central Paris.
According to a report in the Spanish newspaper AS, during the violent riots in France, looters stole a Lionel Messi match jersey from his time playing for Barcelona, along with a captain's armband bearing his authentic signature, from a store in the heart of the French capital.
The looters went even further, publishing a video showing two masked individuals holding the valuable items, which are considered collectors' pieces and have an estimated combined value of thousands of dollars.