Santiago Sosa of Atlanta United said, exchanging jerseys with Lionel Messi is like winning a major trophy.

In the MLS, Messi has swapped shirts with 12 players, including Sosa.

Messi, a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, joined Inter Miami in the summer, instantly becoming a massive sensation in American soccer.

His presence has attracted A-list celebrities seeking tickets to watch him play, and every opponent hopes to leave with a memento of having shared the field with the legendary player.

To date, Messi has exchanged jerseys with 12 individuals in the United States, including eight fellow Argentinians, two Americans, a Brazilian, and a Ghanaian.

Sosa fought hard for his memento after facing his countryman in the Leagues Cup, with Thiago Almada having beaten him to the punch on the field, but he has told ESPN of walking away with a prized possession: "[Players] usually wear two jerseys during a game, one in the first half and another in the second

"So I gave him mine, and he sent me one he had used [in the first half]. Having faced him is a great memory that's always going to stay with me. Having the shirt is something nice, not just for me but for my family as well. It's a trophy, in a way."

Almada formed part of Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup-winning squad, but he said of landing a club shirt from Messi: “When I grabbed it, it smelled like perfume. On the national team, I never wanted to ask him for his jersey or bother him, so I'm very happy to have his shirt.”

LAFC star John McCarthy is one of the two Americans to have landed a Messi jersey—and the only goalkeeper—and he managed to win the post-game race to the 36-year-old forward despite having already given his shirt to Inter Miami custodian Drake Callender.

McCarthy said: “All I really said was: 'Ah, Messi. ¿Camiseta, por favour?' I felt bad because he kind of looked at me like, 'Where's yours?' in a sense. I guess I'm lucky we don't have many Argentinians on the team!”