Messi becomes the object of the unattainable desire of the Panini sticker collection that, complete, can cost 1,100 euros
The recent ‘cyber monday’ organized by the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE), with the participation of more than 1,000 companies, has generated online sales of some 183 million euros in 48 hours, 47% more than a year ago . The best-selling products, with discounts of up to 50%, were mobile phones, televisions and, also, although at prices that did not accept discounts, the chromes of Qatar World Cup.
Two months after its launch on the market, the craze for so-called “figurines” is far from dissipating. There were weeks that those objects of popular desire with the images of the players of the Argentine team were scarce in their natural shopping places, the kiosks and supermarkets. The black market was imposed, with its implacable logic, and even a house was requested in exchange for the supposedly unfindable iconography of Leo Messi, something like the key to the treasure of happiness. Prices have been reduced, compared to those days of possessive drive. But they are still exaggerated: a week before the start of the tournament, the collection of stickers can cost 1,100 euros.
The state of permanent mobilization around the images of the players has been portrayed with poignancy but, at the same time with precision, by Ruben Toesta, a Peruvian actor living in Buenos Aires who has recorded with Bizarre, one of the most important producers in Latin America of reggaeton ‘El album de figuritas’. The lyrics could speak for many Argentines: “It’s Monday early, I don’t want to go to school, My mom asks my old man about his salary, we spend it on figurines, we spend it everywhere, we open a lot and Messi doesn’t touch anyone.
Some 34 million people have burst out laughing on YouTube when Tuesta says: We even sold the car to buy ten, we finally got it, the PSG car came out, but it was Mbappe, I wanted Messi and Mbappe came out . It is not only the son who has failed in the attempt. His father also wanted the same. The wife reproaches him: “You spent the savings, there is no money for rent, they blocked the Visa.” And she leaves him. “Now you’re left without a car, wife or Leo, if they call you a cuckold it’s not my problem.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3U-nW1Wxjg
The image of Messi continues being the most wanted, perhaps due to a collective belief that she is the bearer of luck. Panini, the multinational that manufactures the cards, assured that, strictly speaking, there are no “figus” that are difficult to obtain. But the natural impulse is to go on the hunt for the former Barcelona player.
One World Cup, two Argentinas
In a country with almost 40% poor and annual inflation close to 100%, the proximity of the World Cup seems to put all conflicts in parentheses. It is estimated that some 45,000 Argentines They will be in Qatar, a good part of them residing in Europe and the United States. Some 15,000 will leave from this country. They have had to acquire dollars that are 10% more expensive than what is sold on the black market. The government imposed the Qatari dollar” to discourage travelers and, in this way, take care of the meager reserves of the Central Bank. Not a case. “Encouraging the selected” is worth more than a mass for the middle and upper class.
Football is a vital component of identity. But, also, and especially in World Cups, a machine for creating symbols and senses of belonging. The advertisements exalt the way of “feeling” the matches, the importance of having won two tournaments, one of them with Diego Maradona, and the last chance to repeat the feat with a 35-year-old Messi.
The World Cup is experienced 24 hours a day. Credit cards, beers, oil companies, they all agree in their messages that, above all, in these paroxysmal hours, a festive representation of ‘Argentinity’ is staged. The ball condenses an idea of the “homeland”. Hence, the big companies “swell” for the selection, from Adidas and the cryptocurrency exchange Binance to Coca Cola, the main beer brands and the big online betting houses. The television manufacturer Noblex launched its “God pays” campaignby which, if a device is purchased to better watch the matches and Argentina becomes champion, the money paid is returned to the buyer.
But all this consumerist fever is dwarfed by what has happened with the trading cards. The value of the album, with 670 images, of which 50 are brilliant and 80 are special, has increased by 1200% compared to Russia 2018, while that of each package increased by 900%. You have to pay 0.5 euros for one of them, provided that only the price set in the formal economy circuit is considered and that the object in question is not Messi.
And one day Messi came out. Life couldn’t be so unfair. pic.twitter.com/CMPXW7HB9G
– Jero Freixas (@jerofreixas) October 26, 2022
To complete the album is required, at a minimum, and if no chrome is repeated, 127 envelopes, which is equivalent to 66 euros, a third of the minimum wage. But as the Tuesta song says, the thirst for purchase has led more than one to nonsense.