Lionel Messi donates 80 thousand euros for the reconstruction of the Sierra Oeste devastated by fires in Spain

Argentina captain and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has allocated 80,000 euros to the reconstruction work in the Sierra Oeste, the territory west of the Spanish capital badly damaged by the summer fires. The financial intervention will be disbursed directly through the Leo Messi Foundation, the charity established in 2007 to support childhood, education and health.

The Madrid region recorded unprecedented damage due to the heat wave: the flames incinerated over 22,000 hectares of land, completely destroyed 43 homes and caused serious damage to more than 300 buildings, forcing hundreds of residents to abandon their homes. Across the country and in neighboring France, fire-related emergencies have resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of hectares and the evacuation of more than 300,000 people.

The dramatic emergency in the Sierra Oeste triggered a massive rescue effort which saw the Madrid Health Service (Sermas) at the forefront. The Health Councilor of the Community of Madrid Fátima Matute, speaking from the Isabel Zendal Nurse Hospital, outlined the results of the operations: the health network provided approximately 3,900 medical treatments, mainly treating respiratory problems caused by fumes and widespread states of anxiety. Of all the total interventions, 21 hospital admissions were necessary, none of which were due to extremely serious conditions.

The announcement and the words of Isabel Díaz Ayuso

The news was disclosed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, who shared her recognition of the athlete through a message published on the X platform:

I want to thank him and tell him that we Madridistas hope to receive him as soon as possible to give him the applause he deserves.

The contribution of the thirty-nine-year-old champion – fresh from second place in the World Cup with the Argentine national team and already appointed UNICEF ambassador in the past as well as awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States – reaffirms the historic emotional bond that unites him to Spain, a nation in which he lived for over twenty years wearing the Barcelona shirt before his move to Paris Saint-Germain.