A giant statue of football superstar Lionel Messi, erected in India to mark his visit last year, is «swaying in the wind» and will be removed, an MP has said. AFP on Wednesday.
Workers climbed the 21-metre-high gold-coloured statue in the eastern city of Kolkata in West Bengal and threw ropes around its shoulders to secure it.
The sculpture of the 38-year-old Argentine and Inter Miami star lifting the World Cup trophy was unveiled during Messi’s so-called GOAT Tour of India in December.
But West Bengal lawmaker Sharadwat Mukherjee said it was no longer safe.
“The statue of the Argentine football legend in Kolkata city was found unsafe by engineers of the West Bengal government,” he said.
“We noticed that the image moves back and forth in the wind.”
Workers used ropes on Wednesday to secure the statue, which rises above a busy road.
Mukherjee said it was not clear when it would be taken down.
“Removal has proven easier said than done,” he said. “We plan to remove the statue as soon as possible.”
He did not say whether the statue would be re-erected in another location.
Argentina starts its World Cup campaign on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City.
Messi has not yet formally confirmed his plans to play in the World Cup, but he is widely expected to return for what would be a record-matching sixth appearance at the tournament.
He remains the team’s talisman for defending the title it won in Qatar four years ago.
India – a country of 1.4 billion people – is a cricket superpower, but struggles on the football field and is 142nd in the FIFA rankings.
However, football is the country’s second favorite sport, according to research from data company Nielsen released on Wednesday.
Published on May 27, 2026
