Lionel Messi image on new 1,000-peso currency notes has not been released by the Argentine Central Bank.

 

On social media, a picture claims that the government of Argentina has issued new 1,000-peso commemorative notes with Lionel Messi's image and signature following Argentina's victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Let's check the assertion in the post.

Claim: The government of Argentina unveiled brand-new commemorative 1,000-peso bills bearing Lionel Messi's image and signature.

We attempted to determine whether new commemorative 1,000-peso notes bearing Lionel Messi's image and signature have been issued by Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA), but we were unable to locate any such information on the BCRA's official website. The Argentine national bird, the Rufous Hornero, can still be seen on the 1000-peso currency note on the BCRA website.

Following Argentina's World Cup victory, a few news websites recently reported that the government is considering including Lionel Messi on banknotes. Articles on these news websites referred to an article on the news website "El Financiero."

"El Financiero" reported that Argentina's government is analyzing options to commemorate their players for the 2022 FIFA World Cup win, and that capturing Lionel Messi's face on the thousand-peso bill will be the most preferred option because it is important for officials that the figure begins with a "10." This information was provided by BCRA, which issued commemorative coins when Argentina won its first World Cup in 1978. “And before you think otherwise, this option was ‘jokingly’ proposed by members of the Argentine Central Bank, although the most enthusiastic directors, such as Lisandro Cleri, a fervent supporter of Boca Juniors, and Eduardo Hecker, a follower of Independiente, agreed on that a banknote with this design would awaken the collecting spirit of Argentines,” the article in ‘El Financiero,' however, stated in the following line. A BCRA official stated, "there is no information about this supposed $ 1000 bill in tribute to Messi," in response to the fact-checking organization "Chequeado."

In conclusion, the Central Bank of Argentina did not issue any new currency notes worth 1000 pesos with a picture of Lionel Messi on them.

Fact: The image in the post has been altered. The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) has not yet issued any brand-new commemorative 1,000-peso notes bearing Lionel Messi's image and signature. As a result, the assertion made in the post is WRONG.