Lionel Messi: Says the man behind the bisht he wore to the World Cup final

KEY BRIDGES
  • Argentina captain Lionel Messi received a bisht after his team won the World Cup final against France.
  • The creator of the traditional Arabic dress did not know what it was for him and considers it a personal victory.
  • He said fans in Argentina flocked to his store after the event.
Watching Sunday’s World Cup final, Ahmed al-Salem was more emotional than most football fans when the Emir of Qatar threw a black and gold cape over the shoulders of victorious Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
Cloth was a $2,200 ($3,300) “bisht”, a traditional dress worn by men at weddings, graduations and formal occasions, and it was made by Mr. Salem’s family company.
Mr. Salem watched Argentina beat France in a café next to a family shop in Doha’s Souq Waqif market, having previously handed two handmade thin capes to World Cup officials – one in a Messi miniature and one to match the taller French Captain Hugo Lloris.

“We didn’t know who they were for and I was stunned,” he told the AFP news agency of the moment Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani dressed Messi in a cape.

The man cuts the fabric.

A Qatari worker works on a traditional black and gold bisht at Al Salim shop at the Souq Waqif market in Doha, December 20, 2022. A source: Getty, AFP / Karim Jaafar

Mr. Salem recognized his company logo and is now celebrating his own world championship victory.

Al-Salem, a longtime supplier of bisht to the Qatari royal family, typically sells eight to ten pieces of clothing a day.
On Monday, the day after the final, sales jumped to 150, Salem said, including three copies of the top-notch bisht made famous by Messi.
“At one point, dozens of people were waiting for them outside the store,” he said.

“Almost all of them were Argentines,” he added as he watched eight fans of the new world champions sing their anthem “Muchachos” (comrades) and take pictures wearing a flimsy bisht and holding a replica of the World Cup trophy.

Lionel Messi of Argentina holding the World Cup and teammates celebrating

Lionel Messi wore a bisht, a traditional men’s dress worn by men at weddings, graduations and formal events. A source: Getty / Jean Catuff

bisht boom

As Mr. Salem spoke to AFP, a flood of fans entered the store, all applauding the Emir’s gesture.
“We were all happy when we saw this, it was a gift from one king to another king,” Mauricio Garcia said as he tried on the cloak but decided the price was too high to buy.
Some commentators, predominantly Europeans, criticized the fact that Messi’s shirt was covered during the presentation of the trophy.

But the moment was welcomed by Arab social media users.

A man in a black and gold raincoat kisses an imaginary World Cup trophy.

An Argentine fan kisses a mock World Cup in a bisht at the Al Salim store in Doha’s Souq Waqif market. A source: Getty, AFP / Karim Jaafar

Mr. Salem and other Arab commentators explained that the intention was to “honor” Messi, and that the gesture was misunderstood.

“When a sheikh dresses a person in bisht, it means honoring and recognizing that person,” Mr. Salem said.
It was a “very important moment” for Qatar as it seeks to boost the popularity of the World Cup, said Carol Gomez, professor of sports sociology at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

“These photographs have been widely shared, preserved and republished,” she said.

People smile and applaud inside the store.

Typically, the Al Salim store sells eight to ten pieces of clothing a day. On Monday, sales jumped to 150 pieces, including three examples of the top-notch bisht made famous by Argentine footballer Lionel Messi. A source: Getty / Karim Jaafar

Mr. Salem said that when World Cup officials came to his shop, “they wanted the lightest and most sheer fabric.”

“I was surprised because we are in winter, so it seems like the goal was to show the Argentine uniform, not cover it up,” he said.
Although the bisht is worn in many Gulf countries, Al-Salem is the largest of the approximately five Qatari manufacturers, employing approximately 60 tailors.
Each bisht takes a week to make and goes through seven stages of completion, with different workers adding different lines of gold braid on the front and on the arms.

For Messi’s bisht, the gold thread came from Germany, while the Najafi cotton fabric was imported from Japan.