Up to €900 for Messi's farewell! Argentina rocked by ticket-resale scandal
Messi's farewell match has turned into a gold mine for ticket resellers.
Details: A major controversy has erupted in Argentina ahead of Lionel Messi's final appearance for the national team against Benin at the Monumental. According to RMC Sport and reports in the Argentine media, several influencers and entertainment personalities obtained tickets for the highly anticipated match and then offered them for resale at dramatically inflated prices.
One of the names at the center of the backlash is content creator Martín Martínez, better known as Chapu. He advertised tickets to his audience of more than one million followers before sending potential buyers a price list privately. The cheapest seats were reportedly offered for around 600,000 Argentine pesos, approximately €350, while the most expensive reached 1.55 million pesos, or roughly €905.
Official tickets at the lower end of the price range had cost around 90,000 pesos, approximately €53. La Nación calculated that some resale prices were therefore about 567% higher than face value. Martínez later said he had obtained the tickets from another reseller and claimed his own margin amounted to around 20,000 pesos, less than €12.
The Argentine Football Association has warned supporters about the possibility of fraud and counterfeit tickets and stressed that unauthorized resale is prohibited. The enormous demand is linked to the historic nature of the occasion: Messi is expected to make his 208th and final senior appearance for Argentina against Benin. According to AFA figures, the captain has scored a national-record 125 goals in his first 207 matches.
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Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
