Messi’s World Cup Statue in India Faces Removal Over Wind Damage

India to dismantle large Messi statue as football interest grows

The statue, unveiled during Messi’s GOAT Tour last December, has proven harder to take down than expected, with no decision yet on a new site.

Despite ranking 142nd in FIFA, football remains India’s second-favorite sport, highlighting the country’s connection to the Argentina star...

A massive statue of Lionel Messi put up in India to commemorate his visit last year is swaying in strong winds and will be dismantled, a local lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Workers have climbed the 21-metre, gold-coloured statue in Kolkata, West Bengal, and tied ropes around its shoulders to keep it steady.

The statue depicts the 38-year-old Argentina captain and Inter Miami forward holding the World Cup trophy and was revealed during Messi’s “GOAT Tour” of India last December.

West Bengal lawmaker Sharadwat Mukherjee said the structure is now unsafe and needs to come down.

“The statue of the Argentine football legend in the city of Kolkata was found unsafe by engineers of the West Bengal government,” he said.

“We have noticed that the statue is swaying in the wind.”

On Wednesday, workers used ropes in an attempt to stabilize the statue, which stands over a busy road.

Mukherjee said there was no clear timeline for when it would be taken down.

“Taking it down has turned out to be harder than expected,” he said. “We’re aiming to remove the statue as soon as we can.”

He didn’t mention whether the statue would be put up again somewhere else.

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Argentina will kick off its World Cup run on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City. Messi hasn’t officially said if he’ll play, but most expect him to return for a sixth World Cup, which would tie the all-time record. He’s still the team’s main man as they look to defend the title they won in Qatar four years ago.

India, home to 1.4 billion people, dominates in cricket but ranks 142nd in the FIFA standings and struggles in football. Still, the sport is the country’s second favorite, according to Nielsen data released on Wednesday.