According to Arabic culture, this robe represents royalty, wealth, chivalry and wisdom. This is likely the highest honour anyone can offer in that part of the world, and Leo got it.
829 thousand pounds for Leo’s bisht
We have already explained how important the Bisht is to the Arab world; this is the robe that the Qatar Emir used to cover for Lionel Messi before he lifted the World Cup for Argentina. According to Arabic culture, this robe represents royalty, wealth, chivalry and wisdom. This is likely the highest honour anyone can offer in that part of the world, and Leo got it. But this Bisht has awakened a sense of importance in wealthy Arab people who want to collect it. One Ahmed Al Barwani, a lawyer and a member of Oman’s parliament, shot a massive proposal for Lionel Messi to think about. Ahmed wants to pay seven figures to get these clothes for a proper display and collection for the world to see.
The tournament was a source of pride for the Arabic world
But Messi is unlikely to give it back for money; he understands how massive this honour was for a foreigner and a person without an Arab cultural background. A more likely place for this Bisht to sit is the Lionel Messi Museum in his hometown of Rosario. But in spite of this, the offer from Al Barwani is still worth it from a reliable person. Al Barwani first tweeted something, and they spoke to The National about his proposal. He said: “From the Sultanate of Oman, I congratulate you on winning the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Arabic bisht is a symbol of chivalry and wisdom. I offer you a million dollars (829 thousand pounds) in return for that bisht. I was at the stadium watching the moment when the Emir of Qatar gave Leo the bisht.”
“This moment reveals to the world that we (Arabs) are here, and this is our culture; please know it well. It will be shown to celebrate this moment of pride, help us get through it, and remind us that we can (do everything we can). This Championship was a source of pride and highlighted important facts about how we have not forgotten about Palestine and that the Arabs are one and united.”