A 21-meter tall gold-plated statue of the 38-year-old Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter Miami and the Argentine national team, was unveiled in December last year during his GOAT Tour (Greatest of All Time tour) in India. The statue depicts Messi lifting the World Cup trophy but currently stands on a busy road in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Sharadwat Mukherjee, a lawmaker in West Bengal, said the state government's engineers determined the statue was no longer safe. 'We noticed the statue was swaying in the wind. Dismantling it is easier said than done. We plan to bring it down as soon as possible,' Mukherjee told AFP.
Workers had to climb the statue and use ropes looped over its shoulders for temporary stabilization. However, the exact timing for lowering the statue remains unclear, as does whether it will be reassembled elsewhere.
Lionel Messi is expected to start Argentina's World Cup title defense on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City, USA. Although not yet officially confirmed, the Argentine star is rumored to be returning for his sixth World Cup, a record.
India, a nation of 1.4 billion people, is traditionally a cricket stronghold, with football ranked second in popularity according to a recent study, while the national team is ranked 142nd in the world on the FIFA standings.
