A gold replica of the left foot of soccer superstar Lionel Messi went on sale in Tokyo on March 7, with part of the proceeds going to young victims of the 2011 Tohoku disaster.
A gold replica of the left foot of soccer superstar Lionel Messi went on sale in Tokyo on March 7, with part of the proceeds going to young victims of the 2011 Tohoku disaster.
The suggested retail price for the foot, which is made of pure gold and weighs 25 kilograms, is 486.5 million yen ($5.2 million), although the price could increase depending on interest.
The item was produced by Tokyo-based Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry KK and is now on display at the company's Ginza outlet in the capital. Company employees went to Barcelona last year to measure Messi's foot for the replica. He plays for FC Barcelona.
"I was really sad when I heard the news about the Great East Japan Earthquake,” Messi's older brother, Rodrigo, said at a March 6 news conference held in Tokyo to announce the sale of the foot. “We would be very happy if this can contribute in some way (to the rebuilding effort)."
Rodrigo is a director of the Leo Messi Foundation, set up by the soccer star and which cooperated in the production of the gold replica.
Other objects that went on sale include a pure gold plate with a relief of the back of Messi's left foot and half-sized foot replica made from 100 grams of pure gold.
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