As Lionel Messi prepares to take the field for the first match of his sixth and final FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, Argentines are chasing a different prize: his elusive golden sticker.<\/p>\n
Thousands of kids and adults gather every weekend in the lead-up to the tournament in Parque Rivadavia, a historic park in central Buenos Aires, where collectors trade stamps, coins and now, Panini SpA stickers, to fill up their albums with the faces of every player representing the 48 teams competing in the World Cup.<\/p>\n
After winning the last tournament in 2022, Messi is king.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I get it, I\u2019m keeping it for the rest of my life. It\u2019s going to sleep with me,\u201d said Franco Logiurato, 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s album features spaces for 980 stickers and the Italian manufacturer offers 20 additional collectible rare stickers featuring the most popular players, each available in purple, bronze, silver and gold. One extra collectible sticker appears on average in every 100 packs, the company told Bloomberg<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Logiurato already filled up his album \u2013 costing his dad an entire pay-cheque \u2013 and he\u2019s now after the golden Messi sticker.<\/p>\n \u201cJust think about it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s Messi\u2019s last World Cup. It\u2019s gold. I mean, it\u2019s the most valuable thing there is.\u201d<\/p>\n The craze has helped fuel shortages and driven up prices. Panini recommends selling packs of seven stickers for about US$1.40, but kioscos<\/em>, or corner stores, that manage to get stock charge as much as US$2.10, according to Ernesto Acu\u00f1a, head of the kiosk union.<\/p>\n