Is there no end to the magical powers of football genius Lionel Messi?
His magnificent performances in the World Cup at the end of last year led to Argentina eventually triumphing over France in the final - and also gave a major shot in the arm to many British businesses.
Official figures out this morning show the UK economy unexpectedly grew in November, helped by a boost from the World Cup which kicked off in Qatar on November 20 and ran for nearly a month.
The UK's gross domestic product - a key economic measure of services, construction and manufacturing output - rose by 0.1%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said pubs and restaurants contributed to growth as people went out to watch World Cup games.
The UK economy had been widely expected to contract in November.
But the services sector, which includes a wide-range of industries from hospitality to shopping, was the biggest driver of growth that month.
The ONS said: "There was anecdotal evidence to suggest that the FIFA World Cup had benefited some businesses with pubs, restaurants and units involved in the sale of wine, pizza delivery, advertising and the provision of security for licensed premises reporting an increase in turnover."