Barcelona frontman Lionel Messi is to be the inspiration for a new theme park opening up in China.

The 'Messi Experience Park' will feature 20 attractions and promises to be "a unique global experience" when it opens up in early 2019.

The theme park aims to increase the number of youngsters playing football and will use a variety of virtual reality technologies in its football clinics and "entertainment activities".

Speaking at the launch of the venture, Messi told reporters: "I hope to provide them the experience they never had before and to inspire them to pick up the sport early on. Hopefully, they will feel that I am around when visiting the park."

The 80,000-sq metre site is currently under construction in Nanjing, eastern China.