Messi had single-handedly brought back the World Cup to his football-crazy nation after a gap of 36 years.
Lionel Messi is an elated man, no doubt. He has bagged all honours associated with football, a feat which cannot be claimed by another footballing hero.
The Argentine last year led his country to the world cup title after a scintillating final against holders France in Qatar.
Messi became a hero in Argentina after he almost single-handedly brought back the World Cup to his football-crazy nation after a gap of 36 years.
Argentina had previously won the world cup in 1986 under the guidance of Diego Maradona. By winning the world cup, Messi also ended criticism by his fellow Argentines that the talismanic player only performed for his previous club – Spanish giants Barcelona.
Messi gifts entire team and staff
An elated Messi had played glowing tributes to his young teammates, but the PSG star did not stop there. Messi went a step ahead and gifted the entire team and staff.
The player decided to celebrate his teammates and staff who were part of the world cup winning squad, shaped by Lionel Scaloni, the coach.
Thirty-five iPhone 14 Pro phones would have cost Messi, the star of the country’s campaign in Qatar, $170,000/€160,000.
Each iPhone was custom-made with the team member’s name, shirt number and logo of the AFA – the Argentine Football Association (AFA) or the Asociacion del Futbol Argentino.
The unique gifts from the world’s best footballer also bore the logo of iDesign Gold, the production partner roped in for Messi’s magnanimity.
Each device came with a fancy box
Each device also had a fancy box, iDesign Gold founder revealed in a post on Instagram in which he posed with the Argentine genius. To make it doubly sure this was indeed an iPhone product – the gift had a 24-carat gold plaque – it also had a certificate.
The phone was curated by removing its original panel to suit Messi’s requirements for his world cup winning team. In its place, the gold plate was inserted.
Details about the memory option were not available. Probably Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or seven times, wanted to keep it under wraps. It is learnt that the iPhone consignment was delivered to Messi in his apartment in Paris.