A couple have named their new-born son Messi after Argentina captain, having been granted permission to circumvent a 45-year-old law banning the use of last names as first names.
Messi may be one of the highest-profile figures in Argentina but due to a 1969 statute in the South American country, proud father Daniel Varela had to petition city authorities to be granted an exception to the law.
“We told the authorities that he was our child and that we would name him as we pleased. (A civil register official) said it wasn’t their problem and that I had to write a letter saying why I wanted to give him that name. We did that and finally (permission) arrived,” Varela said.