Sports
Lionel Messi’s face may adorn banknotes in Argentina
The thousand-peso note is the preferred option because it begins with ‘10’— Messi's shirt number for Argentina.
Buenos Aires: To mark Argentina's World Cup victory, the country’s central bank has proposed to put Lionel Messi’s image on currency notes.
According to the Mexican newspaper El Financiero, the regulator bank of Argentina has held a meeting with a desire to mark the historic World Cup win of La Albiceleste.
“And before you think otherwise, this option was ‘jokingly’ proposed by members of the Argentine Central Bank, although the most enthusiastic directors, such as Lisandro Cleri, a fervent supporter of Boca Juniors, and Eduardo Hecker, a follower of Independiente , agreed on that a banknote with this design would awaken the collecting spirit of Argentines,” El Financiero reported.
Even as the newspaper reported that the bank “jokingly proposed” the idea, what was true is the authorities indeed held a meeting about this even before the World Cup final itself.
According to the report, the currency note will also have ‘La Scaloneta’ in the back to pay a tribute to coach Lionel Scaloni.
Notably, commemorative coins have been introduced in the past by the bank to mark Argentina’s first World Cup victory at home in 1978.
Since Messi won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he has been a hot topic on news. His club Paris Saint Germain extended his contract, and the famous Maracana Stadium of Brazil invited him to make footprints at the Hall of Fame.
Messi scored twice and was named Player of the Tournament after France lost to Argentina 4-2 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time in the World Cup final.