A $1m offer has been made to Argentina captain Lionel Messi for the Arabic bisht he wore when lifting the World Cup.
Ahmed Al Barwani is a lawyer and a member of Oman’s parliament and made the proposal on social media.
He posted: “From the Sultanate of Oman I congratulate you for winning the World Cup Qatar 2022. The Arabic bisht, a symbol of chivalry and wisdom. I’m offering you a million dollars (£829,000) in return for that bisht. I was at the stadium watching that moment live when the Emir of Qatar gave Messi the bisht.
“This moment told the world that we are here, and this is our culture, please know it well. It will be displayed to commemorate that moment of pride, and to help us relive it, and to also remind us that we can (do anything). This tournament was a source of pride and has highlighted important facts about how we didn’t forget about Palestine and that Arabs are one and united.”
But Messi is unlikely to sell, he understands how massive this honor was to a foreigner and a person with no Arab cultural background. The more likely place where this Bisht will sit is the Leo Messi museum in his native town of Rosario.