Argentina honours Lionel Messi with an 85-foot statue, bigger than the one dismantled in India
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Argentina honours Lionel Messi with an 85-foot statue, bigger than the one dismantled in India")
Argentina honours Messi with an 85-foot statue, bigger than one in Kolkata Photograph: (AFP)
Celebrate Lionel Messi’s 39th birthday with a look at Argentina's massive new statue tribute in Patagonia and the stunning fan mural in Buenos Aires.
Birthday boy Lionel Messi has now got a new, bigger statue in Cutral Co, a remote town in Patagonia, Argentina, even taller than the one dismantled in Kolkata, India. The defending world champion, who turned 39 on Wednesday (Jun 24), two days after breaking Miroslav Klose’s World Cup record for the most goals, now has an 85-foot statue honouring him and his unparalleled achievements at the top level. Local artists unveiled Messi’s largest statue built to date, which was marvelled with 70 tons of steel.
Meanwhile, Cutral Co is an oil-producing town that has never attracted enough attention compared to Patagonian communities surrounded by picturesque lakes and mountains. However, upon unveiling the statue on June 16 to mark Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria, which ended with Messi registering his maiden hat-trick at the tournament, the deserted city has seen a rise in visitors.
"He is Argentina's natural ambassador. For me, it was very important, not only as an artist but as an Argentine," Beroisa, 61, the local sculptor who designed Messi’s statue, said in a chat with The Associated Press.
Messi’s statue, which took nearly 18 months to be completed, depicts Messi falling to his knees on the grass at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar when he lifted his first FIFA World Cup title. Messi’s Argentina beat France in the penalty shootout (4-2) following a 3-3 draw, to win its third world title, and the first since 1986.
The statue also depicts Messi clutching his country’s jersey with one hand and pointing to the sky with his index finger, which he often does after completing a goal, in tribute to his late grandmother.
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That’s not it!
Elsewhere on a wall of a parking lot in a Buenos Aires suburb, a newly-painted mural, around 20 feet wide and 18 feet high (six meters by 5.5 meters), is accompanied by the names of 1,300 of his fans, who travelled from neighbouring towns to write their names.
"Crazy ... thank you very much to all of you, to the people who supported it, who came by, and who keep coming by," Messi said in a video sent to the creators.
Meanwhile, Messi’s Argentina has qualified for the Round of 32 after winning the first two matches. The defending champions will now face Jordan in their final group stage fixture on Sunday (Jun 27) in India, starting at 7:30 AM IST.
