It might have been July 1, but viewers of the UAE’s Carmudi used car website might have been forgiven for thinking it was April 1 when among its listings yesterday were the team coaches from four eliminated World Cup teams.
Carmudi, which claims to be the world’s fastest growing car classifieds site, posted adverts for the buses used to transport the Spain, England, Italy and Ivory Coast teams to and from World Cup venues in Brazil at prices ranging from US$5 to $500m.
The website, which was founded last year and is attempting to take on the likes of Dubizzle in the UAE used car market, is known for its headline-grabbing pranks.
In this case, it said that the four distinctive Hyundai Universe team buses were located “in transit from Brazil”.
“These legendary vehicles have not merely transported the World Cup stars around Brazil to play their group stage matches, but rather have witnessed the tears of some of the strongest players and the maddening rage of the most balanced players on the field,” a Carmudi spokesman said.
The bus supposedly used by the Italian team was described as coming with “the tear-soaked seat of Mario Balotelli and the pulled[out locks of Andrea Pirlo” and listed at just US$5.
Meanwhile the Spanish bus, described as remaining “for now at least still the transport of the World Champions”, was listed at a staggering US$500 million.
The England team bus, described as a “depressing” drive type, was listed at a price that was “negotiable as we may have many from years gone by”.
The National’s suspicions were further aroused when it noticed that each of the four buses was listed by a Mr Sepp Blatter located at Dubai International Airport.
Mr Blatter did not respond to an emailed inquiry about the buses.
However, when investigated further, Carmudi confirmed that the vehicles had been listed in an attempt “to lighten the spirits of those that may have been shocked and a little disappointed by some of the teams that have exited the competition in the group stages.
“Although you will be able to find the above-mentioned vehicles on the Carmudi platform, they are merely a projection of how much they would have been worth if they were really up for sale,” Carmudi added cryptically.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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