Playboy model's staggering $827,000 bid for Lionel Messi tissue
A Brazilian model and FC Barcelona fan has bid a whopping $827,000 for the tear-soaked tissue Lionel Messi used when confirming he was leaving the club.
Messi broke down in tears when it was time to say goodbye to Barcelona after more than two decades with the Spanish club.
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“I don’t know if I’ll be able to speak," he said while trying to compose himself during his farewell news conference at the Camp Nou Stadium.
“It still hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving this club, that my life will be changing completely.
"It will be a difficult change for me and especially for my family. But we have to accept it and move on."
Messi struggled to control his emotions and cried profusely as he stepped up to the podium, weeping into a tissue handed to him by his wife.
“This is very hard for me after so many years, after being here my entire life,” he said. “I wasn’t prepared.”
The tear-soaked tissue that Messi used has now been put up for auction, with some ridiculous bids coming in for the piece of paper.
Playboy model Luana Sandien, a huge fan of Barcelona, revealed she couldn't resist splashing some cash for the collector's item.
"I bid $600,000 (AU$827,000) to get the Messi handkerchief gone, after that the ad disappeared," she said, according to The Sun.
"I gave more than half the advertised amount believing I would win, but the ad disappeared after my bid, out of nowhere.
"The ad went off the air without giving more information about the outcome of the case, so we don't know if anyone bought the artefact, or if the advertiser gave up on the idea.
"I hope I made it."
While it remains unclear it Sandien's bid was successful, she said she planned to "pose naked" with the tissue if she gets her hands on it.
Lionel Messi distraught to be leaving Barcelona
Messi said he had his mind set on staying with Barcelona and did everything possible to make it happen, including reducing his salary by 50 per cent.
He said he was surprised to hear he wouldn't be able to stay because of the club's debt and the Spanish league's financial fair-play regulations.
“In these last few days I was thinking about what I would say today, but to be honest I couldn't come up with anything. I was blocked, like I still am right now,” he said.
“I was convinced that we would remain with the club, which is our home.”
Messi’s family and some of his teammates were at the Camp Nou for the emotional farewell.
He was applauded several times by those in the audience.
The 34-year-old has since announced he's joining star-studded French side Paris St Germain.
The six-times winner of the Ballon d'Or for Europe's best soccer player, Messi signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year.
with agencies
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