Published on 12:34 PM, November 03, 2017

Messi fulfills promise to Doctors Without Borders

Argentina's Lionel Messi walks upon arrival at a hotel in Guayaquil, Ecuador on October 8, 2017, ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier football match against Ecuador on October 10, 2017. Photo: AFP File

Barcelona star playmaker Lionel Messi donates 72,000 Euros to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that helps out with endemic diseases in warn torn countries.

Messi won a defamation case against La Razon, a newspaper which brought up false accusations of doping against the Barcelona star.

The Argentine won the libel case on July 7 last year. The case was on standby for a year before the Messi finally received compensation.

A year ago, Messi had requested that the libel case compensation be given to Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian non-government organization.

The libel case ruling has been issued by the Supreme Court and a Barcelona Court had last year described the article by La Razon as “unnecessary and impertinent”.

ESPN reports that journalist Alfonso Ussia, who wrote the article, went as far as to claim that Messi wore a wig and had used the performance-enhancing drug Nandrolone.

According to Barcelona based Sport, Messi’s management team confirmed that the money has already been sent to the humanitarian organization on Thursday.

Messi also has a foundation known as the Leo Messi Foundation, which is committed to helping out the needy in Rosario and various parts of the world with numerous projects.