27 May 2026 16:33 BST |
4 min read
A seventy-foot Lionel Messi statue in India is set to be taken down due to safety concerns.
In December, the World Cup winner embarked on a promotional ‘GOAT’ (Greatest of all Time) tour of India in which he appeared at various events and met hundreds of thousands of adoring fans.
As part of the tour, a statue was erected in Kolkata, West Bengal, but six months on, it will be removed after it was reportedly spotted swaying in the wind.
Engineers from the Public Works Department (PWD) carried out an inspection of the statue following complaints from local citizens on Monday. It found that the structural integrity of the monument had been compromised.
“The statue of the Argentine football legend was found [to be] unsafe,” said West Bengal state legislator Sharadwat Mukherjee.
“We have noticed that the statue is swaying in the wind.”
Mukherjee said the location of the statue next to a busy road and a subway makes its removal “easier said than done,” but that they plan to “remove the statue at the earliest opportunity.”
Messi unveiled the statue virtually in December.
He had to cut short one of his promotional appearances after unrest erupted in the stands at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. He walked around the pitch waving to supporters but as he was guarded by heavy security and surrounded by another large group, fans in the stands apparently didn’t get a great look at the Argentine.
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Angry fans resort to vandalism at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, alleging poor management of the event.
Star footballer Lionel Messi has left the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
A fan of star footballer Lionel Messi said, “Absolutely terrible… pic.twitter.com/TOf2KYeFt9
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2025
After he stayed for just 20 minutes, the frustration turned to chaos as those fans started to rip up stadium seats and throw them onto the pitch.
“It was really disappointing, we came from Darjeeling for that… We couldn’t even see it properly, and it’s the most disappointing thing I’ve ever seen,” a fan told ANI News.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal state, apologised to Messi and ordered a probe into the incident. “I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium,” she wrote on X.
“I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident. I am constituting an enquiry committee … the committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
Kolkata has a large football following and seems to have an affinity with Argentina was Diego Maradona visited the city twice and has a statue of himself there.
The organiser of the event, Shatadru Dutt, was subsequently arrested.
While that monument to Messi didn’t last very long, you can get your very own thanks to LEGO’s© new World Cup range.
The Barcelona icon has his own Celebration build, which depicts him in his iconic pose after scoring, with both index fingers pointed to the air. Packed with detail, this build consists of 1427 blocks.
For Messi fans seeking a slightly smaller challenge, LEGO has produced a Football Legend build for the great Argentine. This also shows him in his famous celebration pose but at 958 blocks is a slightly smaller set.
