Photos: Lionel Messi golden left foot on sale in Japan

That Lionel Messi is worth his weight in gold was reaffirmed on Wednesday when a pure gold replica of the Argentina and Barcelona star's left foot was unveiled in Tokyo.

The 25cm tall and 28cm wide foot, valued at the price of 498.7 million Japanese yen (US $5.25 million), was created by Japanese jeweller Ginza Tanaka to commemorate the four-time Ballon d'Or winner's achievements.

Messi's brother Rodrigo, who attended the news conference for the unveiling of the 25-kilogram golden replica, was all praise for the jeweller's work.

"It's exceptional. You can see each line in the foot. It's an impressive piece of work," he declared.

Tanaka informed that he cast Messi's foot in Spain at the end of 2012.

The foot will go on sale on Thursday, with an endorsement from the Messi Foundation.

Part of the proceeds will go to the foundation, which in turn will go towards supporting children in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster that hit Japan in March 2011.