A TISSUE used by Leo Messi to dry his tears and blow his nose during his emotional departure from FC Barcelona has been put up for auction for US$1 million.
Although the chunk of Kleenex posted on internet bidding site Mercado Libre has not been proven to be the very same one Messi's wife Antonella handed to him when he made his exit speech for the press, it is thought that someone present at the conference 'rescued' the rather 'Messi' tissue from the bin.
The auction 'lot' has attracted a surprising amount of interest, with some potential bidders saying that, as Messi's DNA is on it, one day they may be able to clone him.
'Messimania' has rocketed since the Argentine whizz was reported to have been sold to Paris-Saint Germain from Barça, where he has played since he was a child fresh from the slums of Buenos Aires.
In fact, the paper napkin he signed when accepting the contract with Barça at age 13, whilst not up for auction, is on display in the club's museum at its Camp Nou stadium.
Everything Messi-related is suddenly in demand now that FC Barcelona's number 10 is on his way to PSG – searches for collectors' items, even the most surreal, rocketed by 1,200% after the iconic player's final media conference before his move to France.
