Lionel Messi's restaurant gives out free food and drink to homeless in Argentina

A view of the outside of the restaurant [Courtesy]

A bar and restaurant owned by the family of Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi has been handing out free food and drink to the homeless in his home town of Rosario.

Argentina is going through a cold snap and the weather, coupled with economic uncertainty, has led to lots of people sleeping rough on the streets.

To help cope with the crisis the restaurant, named VIP, has been offering warm food and drink to those who are in desperate need.

The restaurant plans to keep this up for just over two weeks until the situation improves.

"We've been giving coffee, soft drinks and even some wine to some," said restaurant manager Ariel Almada, as reported by Marca.

"Many people came and were very respectful.

Inside the Messi family bar [Courtesy]

"We're going to keep this up for 15 days, every night between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM."

The restaurant also plans to collect some warm clothes to hand out to those who require them.

Messi is heavily involved in charity work through the Leo Messi Foundation.

In February, the foundation donated €200,000 to help fund a water project in conjunction with UNICEF in Kenya.

The money was used to go towards building a water pump and supplying food, meaning that more than 2,000 people had access to running water in their homes and in primary schools.

Messi was recently involved in controversy following Argentina's defeat to Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa America.

Messi reacts after the defeat [Courtesy]

Following his country's defeat, Messi suggested that the referees were in favour of a Brazilian victory.

"There is no doubt, the whole thing is set up for Brazil. I hope the VAR and referees don't play any part in the final and that Peru can compete but it looks tough to me," he said.

"I did not want to be part of this corruption, we shouldn't have to be part of this disrespect we suffered during the Copa America."