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<\/div>\nLionel Messi\u00a0gifted Argentina team-mates and staff gold iPhones following their World Cup success and splurged \u00a3175,000 on 35 individual devices.<\/p>\n
Messi masterminded the nation to World Cup glory in December\u00a0as his sensational goalscoring form in Qatar guided Argentina through several tricky ties before beating France on penalties in the final.<\/p>\n
The Argentina captain wanted to give his colleagues a personal memento to remember their success with and decided personalised 24-carat gold smartphones was the way to go.<\/p>\n
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The\u00a0PSG\u00a0star had the mobiles delivered to his Parisian department over the weekend and will set about handing them over to the lucky individuals who are set to receive a swanky new upgrade to their current handset.<\/p>\n
CEO of\u00a0iDesign Gold, Ben Lyons, explained how Messi approached him about designing a special gift after triumphing in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\u201cLionel is not only the Goat but he\u2019s one of iDesigns Gold\u2019s most loyal customers and got in touch with us a couple of months after the World Cup final,\u201d he told\u00a0The Sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he wanted a special gift for all the players and staff to celebrate the amazing win but didn\u2019t want the usual gift of watches.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I suggested gold iPhones inscribed with their names and he loved the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n Each luxury piece boasts a similar design of the Argentina team badge with the updated three stars, the player\u2019s name and national team shirt number, and the words \u2018World Cup champions 2022\u2019.<\/p>\n The bottom of the phone is engraved with the manufacturers brand and the luxury service brand Patrick Group, however, it is not known what their involvement was in the process.<\/p>\n Some of the mobiles unveiled in short social media snippets show the designs of World Cup final goalscorers Messi and Angel di Maria, while Brighton\u2019s Alexis Mac Allister and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez\u2019s custom devices were also put on display.<\/p>\n The company behind the mobiles appear to be popular with other footballers who like to use their six-figure salaries to buy luxury goods.<\/p>\n Neymar was spotted sporting gold wireless earphones and Chelsea\u2019s Hakim Ziyech invested in a similar gold iPhone.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n