Villa sends signed shirts to trapped Chilean miners

MADRID (Reuters) -- Barcelona striker David Villa, whose family have worked in mining for generations, has sent two signed shirts to the 33 workers who have been trapped down a Chilean shaft for more than a month.

The 28-year-old from the Spanish mining region of Asturias signed one Barca shirt "be strong" and wrote a personal message on another for Franklin Lobos, a former professional soccer player who is one of the trapped workers.

"I am part of the mining family and I share the concern of the relatives but everything will turn out well," Villa was quoted as saying by Spanish sports daily El Mundo Deportivo.

"I wanted to let them know that I am with them, that all of us who know what it's like in a mine are with them and that the whole world is watching them and supports them," he added.