Lionel Messi gifts gold iPhones to his Argentina World Cup-winning teammates, support staff

Lionel Messi hoisted his first FIFA World Cup trophy with Argentina last December. To cherish the beautiful memories, Messi has gifted his Argentina teammates and staff stunning gold iPhones. Reports have mentioned that Messi splurged £175,000 on 35 individual phones.

Messi led Argentina to win the World Cup title in a penalty shootout, defeating France in one of the most exhilarating games in the history of the tournament.

Reports have mentioned that Messi wished to gift his teammates and staff members a personal memento to honour their contribution and celebrate the success with a personalised gift. Hence, giving the 24-carat gold smartphones.

The Sun quoted a source as saying that Messi "wanted to do something special and blingy to celebrate his proudest moment. He got in touch with entrepreneur Ben Lyons and they came up with the design together."

Ben Lyons,the CEO of iDesign Gold,told The Sun, "Lionel is not only the GOAT but he's one of iDesigns Gold's most loyal customers and got in touch with us a couple of months after the World Cup final."

"He said he wanted a special gift for all the players and staff to celebrate the amazing win but didn't want the usual gift of watches," Lyons said further adding that he "suggested gold iPhones inscribed with their names and he loved the idea".

Reports have mentioned that each smartphone has a similar design to the Argentina team badge with the updated three stars. Details like the player's name and national team shirt number are also there with the words 'World Cup champions 2022' written on them.

🥇🇦🇷 Lionel Messi has gifted 35 gold plated iPhone 14's to all the Argentina players & staff after the World Cup victory. pic.twitter.com/1sNRUlwwqf — EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 2, 2023

Lionel Messi has gifted 35 gold plated iPhone 14's to each member of the Argentina squad and staff after their World Cup win. 🥇🇦🇷

Each phone is engraved with the last name, the number of the shirt and the AFA shield with the three stars. 📲⭐⭐⭐ pic.twitter.com/86KdECGcVX — Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 2, 2023

Lionel Messi ordered 35 gold-plated iPhone 14s for his teammates and coaching staff as gifts after winning the World Cup Final. 🏆📱🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/s4mQER9C3j — Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) March 2, 2023

After winning the world cup, Messi had said that tournament would be his last, but now it appears he's open to the possibility of playing in the 2026 event.

He recently, told Diario Ole, a sports newspaper in Argentina, "Because of age it'll be difficult to make 2026. I love playing football and while I feel like I'm in good shape and enjoying this, I'm going to keep at it. It seems like a long time until the next World Cup, but it depends on how my career is going."

Messi recently won the Best FIFA Men's player award for last year at a ceremony in Paris. He beat his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and the other contenderBallon d'Or winner Karim Benzema to claim the prize.

(With inputs from agencies)

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