Lionel Messi's hometown of Rosario in Argentina has banned the use of his surname as a baby name.

After a father in another Argentinian province announced that he had named his newborn son, Messi, after the Argentina captain, the civil register in Rosario's Sante Fe province stated that it was "prohibited by law" in the Barcelona player's home province.

Gonzalo Carrillo explained that the fact that 'Messi' is a surname would lead to confusion if it was then adopted as a first name.

Using a famous player's surname is not prohibited everywhere of course.

Recently Celtic midfielder Beram Kayal named his son Pirlo Kayal after Italy World Cup-winning genius, Andrea Pirlo.