We’ve all seen the occasional tweet where a club has tried to be funny by making a joke about Lionel Messi joining them, but there’s something weird going on at Bundesliga side Stuttgart.
Just to be clear – they have a 0% chance of signing the Barcelona star – but the fans did start a campaign last week to raise funds to pay for the transfer fee and his wages.
Things have taken a stranger turn after the club’s official Twitter announced that Daniel Didavi has given up the number 10 shirt to ensure that it’s free for Messi when he does join:
¡Te estamos esperando – t´estem esperant, Leo! ?
Besonderer Dank auch an Dida für den freiwilligen Verzicht auf die Nr. ?! ? #VfB #Messi Falls es nicht klappen sollte, geht der Crowdfunding-Erlös in jedem Fall an eine richtig gute Sache!
? https://t.co/vrw6ii3ANg pic.twitter.com/BIDMZtoxY2
— VfB Stuttgart (@VfB) September 3, 2020
Thankfully this all looks like an effort to have some fun and raise money for charity rather than a club absolutely losing the plot, but you do worry that they aren’t finished with the publicity stunts yet.