Last year, Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi won a libel case against Spanish newspaper, La Razon who published an article following Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Germany in 2014, criticizing the player and claiming he wore a wig and had used performance-enhancing drug Nandrolone.
Spain’s Supreme Court agreed with the Barcelona court’s ruling that  the article went outside the bounds of an opinion piece and ordered that La Razon, its editor, Francisco Marhuenda and Ussia should pay €72,783.20 to Messi. The case was closed today, with Messi donating the money won in the case to medical charity, Doctors Withour Borders.
 
“The football player Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini has donated a total of €72,783.20 to the organisation Doctors Without Borders. It corresponds to the full amount of compensation requested by the player in the conflict arising from the publication of the article ‘Sonatina’ in La Razon by the journalist Alfonso Ussia. The decision made by a Barcelona court [last year] has now been declared inadmissible by the Supreme Court. [Messi] will continue to defend himself against false and inaccurate accusations which attempt to dishonour him.” Messi’s management company confirmed in a statement.