Your reporter Kurt Sansone (October 30) got it all wrong about Lionel Messi.

Mr Sansone picked on the wrong player when trying to ridicule the local system and what he termed the “absurd” reality Maltese football clubs face when signing non-EU foreign footballers.

It is true that Messi is from Argentina, and that Barcelona is a European club, but in Messi’s case EU rules regarding non-EU players do not apply because Messi joined Barcelona’s nursery when he was just 13.

He is therefore considered to be a ‘home-grown’ player for Barcelona, having spent more than three years with the club at youth level. He is not considered a non-EU player.

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