Pope Francis openly admits to committing football sin

That'll be 10 Hail Marys and 15 El Clasicos, your Holiness.

Pope Francis has shocked the world by revealing that he is a football sinner. Despite claiming to be a big fan of the beautiful game, God's representative on Earth confessed that he has never seen arguably the greatest player to ever grace a football pitch in action. He told Argentine newspaper La Voz Del Pueblo, that although he has met Messi twice, he has never seen a second of him playing.

"When asked if he was more a “Messi-style” pope or a “Mascherano-style” one (in reference to the renowned footballer, Lionel Messi, and his Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano), the pope said he did not know because he had never seen them play, although he said he had met Messi twice in Vatican."

In the Pope's defence, he hasn't watched television since 1990 after giving up gawking at the idiot box as a promise to the Virgin of Carmine. No TV? No problem, Francis. Haven't you ever heard of SportsJOE? We cover Messi all the time. Hat-tip to Bleacher Report