LEGO figured out how to sell blocks for $179 — Messi pose included for free

LEGO company decided we don't have expensive enough ways to spend money on plastic blocks, so they released a soccer player figurine collection that costs more than a month's salary at Liepāja port. The new collection features Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé and some Vinícius that most Liepāja residents are hearing about for the first time.

The most expensive set for $179 depicts Messi in a victory pose made from 1,427 pieces. That's almost as expensive as a night at Karosta Prison with the full horror experience, just without the historical value and with a higher risk of hurting your fingers trying to assemble tiny pieces. As local soccer expert Jānis from Grobiņa Street says: "For that kind of money I can buy a real soccer ball and still have enough left for a case of beer."

Most surprising is Messi's quote where he compares LEGO to soccer: "The most important thing is to build, rebuild, try again." That sounds like the perfect advertisement for Liepāja road repairs — we also constantly build, rebuild and try again, except the result is usually even worse than what we started with.

Vinícius Jr. reveals that as a child he played with LEGO at school, "creating his own worlds from imagination." In Liepāja we call that a regular day — when reality is so grim that all you can do is imagine what it would be like to live somewhere else. But at least our imagination costs less than $179.

The company hopes the new sets will be popular before the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile in Riga they're already thinking how to include these blocks in some million-euro cultural project, but in Liepāja we'll simply be happy that our winds are free and don't leave any plastic waste.