Barcelona For children with cancer

Messi is involved with the fight against childhood cancer

A link between Lionel Messi and children's hospital Sant Joan de Deu goes back many years.

When he arrived as a child in Barcelona, he was as full of excitement as he was uncertainties.

There, he received the growth treatment that he needed, regularly accompanied by his father.

Treatment that helped him to compete at the highest level and turn himself into the best player in the world - as suggested by his five Ballon d'Or awards.

Leo has never forgotten what the hospital had done for him and in recent years, he has financed research and the training of Argentine doctors at the centre.

His relationship with them has extended to his most ambitious project yet: the construction of a leading hospital in Europe for the treatment and investigation into cancer in children.

When he heard the proposition, he did not hesitate.

Childhood cancer is an illness with no concrete explanation, nor treatment on how to avoid it.

The treatment is very expensive, because there aren't many cases of it; one child will have it compared with 200 adults.

A project started by the Lionel Messi Foundation and the Barcelona Foundation will look to construct a hospital annexed to Sant Joan de Deu that will be dedicated exclusively to this illness.

The idea is that children receive treatment in a centre designed just for them, which will be much better - at a cost of 30 million euros.

Messi is participating in the hashtag #paralosvalientes - #ForTheBrave - to receive donations and economic support for the project.

The next phase will be the purchase and installation of a proton machine that can focus radiation on the exact place where the illness lies, without doing secondary damage to other parts of the body.

A gesture that Lionel Messi made after his first goal against Sevilla, where he painted his face, makes reference to the campaign which he is supporting.

At this point, they have received four million euros but there is a long way to go.