Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who remains to be one of the most followed sportspersons on the planet, played a key role in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final – where he scored a brace to help Argentina lift the World Cup title after 36 years. It has been reported that the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina discussed putting Messi on the thousand-peso currency note.
According to Financial newspaper El Financiero, it has been reported that the regulator bank of Argentina has held a meeting 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,” the report said.
Images of mockups of the 1,000 peso note being discussed have also emerged on social media.
It has also been reported that while Messi's image will feature on one side of the note, the other side will have the group's nickname 'La Scaloneta'.
“And on the back of the ticket? ‘La Scaloneta’ (the nickname of the team led by Leonel Scaloni), they say, has already done enough merit to be immortalized there, this after their victories in the 2021 Copa América, the Finalissima (the match against Italy, the most recent champion of the Euro) and Qatar 2022,” the newspaper report added.
After succeeding Jorge Sampaoli back in 2018, Lionel Scaloni has guided Argentina to victories in the 2021 Copa America, the first ever Finalissima at Wembley Stadium and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Notably, after Argentina won its first World Cup back in 1978, commemorative coins were issued.
Messi-led Argentina defeated France 4-2 in penalty shootout to end their country's 36-year wait for a World Cup trophy. Messi had a stellar run in Qatar- where he scored seven goals and provided three assists.
