Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has made a €500,000 donation to help the fight against coronavirus in Argentina.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner pledged to give a total of around €1 million to assist in the battle with Covid-19 in March, with around half of that going to Barcelona's Hospital Clinic and the rest dedicated to medical facilities in his homeland.

It has now been confirmed that the captain of the Argentina national team has donated €500,000 to the Fundación Garrahan for their campaign “Juntos por la salud Argentina” (Together for Argentine health).

“We are very grateful for this recognition of our work, which will allow us to continue with our commitment to public health in Argentina," said Dr. Silvia Kassab, executive director of the ​Fundación Garrahan.

Messi has also taken part in a number of campaigns to raise awareness in Argentina since the outbreak of the virus, highlighting the importance of staying at home and washing hands in order to avoid a greater spread of the pandemic.

After almost two months at home, the 32-year-old is now back in training with Barcelona ahead of a planned restart of LaLiga in June.