Stuttgart Fan Launches GoFund Me Campaign to Sign Messi, Will Donate to Charity if it Fails

Lionel Messi in 2018. Photo by Bagu Blanco/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi recently made a shocking decision to leave La Liga giants Barcelona, but his next destination still remains unknown. And while Manchester City seems to be the favorites to land him, one fan of the newly-promoted Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart is attempting to get his club into the conversation.

Tim Artmann, who is a longtime supporter of Stuttgart, recently started a GoFund Me campaign through which he looks to raise funds so his team could sign Messi. Artmann set the goal of the campaign for $1 billion, taking into consideration Messi’s release clause of $830 million and his high wage demands.

Since collecting this amount of money takes time, Artmann is aware that Lionel Messi might get impatient and sign with another club. In that case, Artmann will donate all the money he collects to charity Viva Con Agua.

Viva Con Agua is a non-profit located in Hamburg which has the goal of bringing clean water and basic sanitation to humans in all parts of the world. The organization is working on its goal since 2006 and has offices in Switzerland, United States, Uganda, and South Africa, among other countries.

“As I heard Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona, I started a fundraising page to collect some money for a charity organization,” said Artmann in a recent chat with talkSPORT 2. “I set the goal to €900m for the transfer fee and for Stuttgart to pay him, but my first thought was for the charity.”

Artmann’s campaign saw backing from 258 people so far, who donated around $4,400 for the cause.

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