Pigeon sold for Dh5 million after bidding war

The pigeon was sold after a two-week online bidding war which attracted bids from countries around the world.

A racing pigeon sold for a record price of £1million (Dh5 million approx), became the most valuable bird ever sold in an online auction.
The pigeon, Armando, was sold by auction house Pipa after a two-week online bidding war which attracted bids from countries around the world, including the US, South Africa and Belgium.
Armando's owner, Joël Verschoot, 63, from Ingelmunster in west Flanders said, "Armando was born to be a champion but he had never dreamed of such a huge sum being paid for it. The two Chinese had told me in advance that they absolutely wanted Armando. But I didn't see this coming," reported The Guardian.
While, founder and chief executive of Pipa, Nikolaas Gyselbrecht was quoted as saying in Metro.co.uk, "This pigeon has a race record that has never been matched by any other pigeon. In football terms you have Messi and Ronaldo - it's that level." 
Gyselbrecht further added, "There was nobody in the pigeon world who thought that would happen. We were hoping for four or five hundred thousand, and maybe a little bit dreaming of six." However,  the record price at which Armando was sold was pushed up by about Euros 700,000 (£600,000) by two Chinese enthusiasts in the final hour of the two-week auction.