* The bisht is a traditional piece of clothing in the Arab world that has been worn for generations
* It’s not worn everyday and is saved for special occasions, such as the crowning moment of Messi’s career
By Tome Blow, Mirror & John Prada, Marca.com
Lionel Messi was given a Qatari bisht by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani before lifting the World Cup for Argentina.
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The bisht is a traditional piece of clothing in the Arab world that has been worn for generations. It’s not worn everyday and is saved for special occasions, such as the crowning moment of Messi’s career.
It’s also usually reserved for high-profile figures in society — such as members of the royal family, politicians, religious scholars and wealthy individuals are the type of individuals who usually wear the bisht.
According to Arab News, there is no cloth that can provide the distinction of a hand-tailored bisht in Qatar and as he was being robed by Infantino and the Emir of Qatar, the Paris Saint-Germain forward seemed happy to wear it.
Argentina ended their 36-year wait to win the prestigious competition by beating defending champions France in penalty shootout at the Lusail Stadium.
Messi scored twice and Kylian Mbappe bagged a hat-trick in what will be remembered as the greatest World Cup final that ended 3-3 after 120 minutes.
Argentines have dreamt about Messi lifting the World Cup since he was named captain in 2011 and the team recreated the iconic image of Diego Armando Maradona in 1986 in their celebration.
There are images that leave a mark in the history of sport — iconic snapshots that everyone dreams of imitating one day and that was the photo of Maradona after the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
It shows El Pelusa holding the World Cup in his hands as he’s carried out of the Azteca Stadium while on someone’s shoulders. It looked as though this image would never be repeated, but that isn’t the case.
Messi has finally managed to win a World Cup, just like his idol, and get his picture while being carried on someone’s shoulders and in Messi’s case, it was his great friend Kun Aguero — who didn’t hesitate in grabbing Messi before carrying him all over the field.
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After mourning the lost finals with his country — especially hard was that of 2014 World Cup at the Maracana despite being the Golden Ball winner — the No.10 now has his star with Argentina, completing his envied collection and matching the ‘Dios’.
The Messi of seven Ballon d’Ors, who won the Golden Boot six times with more than 700 goals and who won everything with Barcelona — 10 LaLiga Santanders, seven Copa del Reys, four Champions Leagues — was weighed down by the Argentine jersey for years.
Criticisms were focused on a star who led Argentina to the World Cup glory after brushing it with his fingers too many times.
He got rid of the ‘thorn’ with the Copa America he lifted in Brazil in 2021 and flew to the top in Qatar encouraged by a country and a team that had more faith in him than ever.
At 35 years of age, the leader and nastier Leo propelled Argentina to the top with a Maradonian performance. He was at his prime in Qatar despite having lost some of his pace.
He did not help out so much at the back and was lethal in the last meters and was always decisive in the groups and in the crossings with his seven goals and three assists.
He opened the scoring against Australia (Round of 16), Croatia (semifinals) and France (final) — to become the only player to ever score in every knockout round of the World Cup.
