For any footballer on Earth, a World Cup winner's medal is the ultimate prize. Only a select few men have ever known the immense pride and happiness that comes from having that medal placed around their neck.
The idea of giving it away seems unthinkable.
Not for Daniele De Rossi. The Roma midfielder has not only given up his most prized possession… he has done so in the most amazing way imaginable.
Pietro Lombardi, the kitman for Italy when they won the 2006 World Cup, recently passed away, aged 92. Nicknamed "Spazzolino" (toothbrush) because he did such a great job of cleaning the players’ boots, Lomabrdi was enormously popular with the 2006 squad, including De Rossi.
That's why, according to a story in Gazzetta World, De Rossi took his World Cup medal to Lombardi's funeral… and left it in his friend's coffin.
A truly amazing gesture, made all the more classy by the fact De Rossi hasn't spoken publicly about it.
We can only assume he felt Lombardi deserved some silverware of his own.
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One thing we do know: De Rossi just proved footballers can often be very, very decent human beings.