ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. An autographed Lionel Messi Argentina jersey is on sale for 700,000 rubles ($8,600) at the Stargift booth at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Also on sale are a pair of cleats autographed by Messi for 600,000 rubles ($7,400), and a chess set created by Russian designer Taras Zheltyshev is on display as well, priced at 1.1 mln rubles ($13,600).
"Our most expensive exhibit is a handwritten letter by [Sergey] Korolev about the launch of the first satellite, priced at 75 mln rubles ($930,000)," at the booth told TASS.
Other notable exhibits include sneakers hand-painted by Viktor Tsoi, the deceased lead singer for Kino, a photograph of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin with his autograph, and a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump that was signed by both of them. The total value of all the exhibits is 5 mln rubles ($62,000).
Lionel Messi, 36, played for Barcelona FC from 2003 and 2021, winning 10 La Liga titles, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copa del Rey titles, 4 UEFA Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cups, and 3 FIFA Club World Cups. From 2021 to 2023, he played for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), winning two French Ligue 1 titles and the French Super Cup. Currently, he plays for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami. In 2023, Messi received the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time, awarded to the best player of the year.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.