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Lionel Messi outstrips Cristiano Ronaldo as shirt earns ex-Man United employee huge sum

One of Lionel Messi's Barcelona shirts has been sold at auction for £48,608.

The jersey was worn against Manchester United in August 2012 and signed after their pre-season friendly, which ended 0-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi match-worn shirts auctioned by former Manchester United masseur Rod Thornley3

Messi's shirt went for more than Ronaldo's when they were auctioned by MatchWornShirt

Lionel Messi's shirt sells

It was part of a collection sold by former Manchester United masseur Rod Thornley via MatchWornShirt.

Thornley was once a prolific striker for Altrincham and the younger brother of Ben, one of the famous Class of 92 at Old Trafford.

While starring in non-league he became a lifeguard at a local leisure centre and a twist of fate saw him needed at Manchester United's Carrington training ground in the same role.

From there he trained as a masseur leading to an incredible career inside one of the most famous dressing rooms in football.

Crossing paths with the great and the good in football he also managed to acquire an impressive collection of memorabilia.

Cristiano Ronaldo beaten

At the same time as Messi's shirt, Thornley also put a Cristiano Ronaldo match-issued shirt from his time at Real Madrid up for grabs, but it couldn't match the Argentine's sale, closing at £7,795.

Messi's shirt would have been hot property among the Manchester United squad.

However, Thornley, thanks to an old friend, managed to beat the competition.

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He told MatchWornShirt: "I messaged Gerard Pique a couple of days before the game and said, 'I never ask you for anything, but I need Messi's shirt from this one'.

"At the end of the game Gerard came into our dressing room, grabbed me, and walked me straight into theirs. Messi still had the shirt on his back.

Lionel Messi personally signed his shirt for Rod Thornley3

Messi signed the shirt straight off his back

"He took it off, signed it to me while I sat there with him, and shook my hand. It was incredible."

Manchester United shirts also sold

Previously, Thornley auctioned match-worn, match-issued and match-prepared shirts from David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt, all collected by Thornley during his years with the club.

One of them was a match-worn shirt from a famous night in Manchester United history.

Everyone knows them as the Red Devils so wearing anything other than that colour at Old Trafford just seems wrong.

However, on just a couple of occasions in Europe a kit clash has prompted a necessary evil.

They once wore white against Barcelona in 1998 but in 2002 they wore BLUE against Olympiacos in the Champions League.

Several match-worn Manchester United shirts3

Giggs' shirt was the top Manchester United shirt when auctioned by MatchWornShirt

Referee Gilles Veissiere deemed the Greek side's black and red too close to Man United's red.

As such, they were forced to don their blue third kit and took revenge immediately, winning 4-0.

The romp was inspired by a Ryan Giggs double and Thornley put this jersey up for auction with MatchWornShirt, closing at £7,429.

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