Lionel Messi made chapecoens Captain dream comes true after memorial friendly match

Barcelona began life without Brazilian superstar Neymar on Monday night as the Catalan side entertained Brazilian side Chapecoense in a pre-season friendly.

Neymar has switched the Nou Camp for the French capital after joining Paris Saint-Germain for a world record €222 million and Barca have been left to fill the void.

However, this friendly was about more than coping without Neymar or even truly preparing for the new season - it was about honouring 19 players and 24 Chapecoense officials that died in a plane crash last year.

Funds raised from the match will "help Chapecoense rebuild institutionally and recover the competitive level it had before the tragedy", Barca said in a statement.

Captain Alan Ruschel was joined by the two other survivors, Neto and Jakson Follmann, in the starting line-up, the latter of whom had his right leg amputated after the tragedy.

Neto and Follmann were also invited to take a special kick-off in front of 65,000 fans. They were given a standing ovation.

"I am filled with happiness to be returning to play," Ruschel told Spanish newspaper Marca.

"I am one of the happiest people in the world because I am living something almost unthinkable. I consider myself fortunate to be in Spain, facing Barcelona, playing in a stadium where I never thought I would be
Ruschel had the unenviable task of marking Lionel Messi during the affair and Barca strolled to a 5-0 win thanks to goals from Gerard Deulofeu, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Denis Suarez and Messi himself.

However, after the match, Messi made Ruschel's dreams come true by embracing swapping shirts with the skipper before posing for a photo. A nice touch of class from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, we're sure you will agree.