Kolkata to Remove 21-Metre Lionel Messi Statue Over Safety Concerns

A 21-metre golden statue of Lionel Messi in Kolkata will be removed after engineers determined it is unsafe, West Bengal state legislator Sharadwat Mukherjee said. The sculpture, which shows the Argentina and Inter Miami player raising the World Cup trophy, was remotely unveiled by Messi in December during his GOAT Tour of India.

It stands at Lake Town over a busy road. Workers climbed the statue on Wednesday and wrapped ropes around its shoulders in an attempt to secure it.

Mukherjee told the AFP news agency that engineers from the West Bengal government had inspected the statue and found it unsafe. He said officials noticed the structure swaying in the wind. He added that removal has proved more difficult than expected and that authorities are planning to take the statue down at the earliest opportunity.

It is not yet known whether the statue will be re-erected elsewhere.

Ranks 142nd in the FIFA world rankings and is primarily a cricket nation, though football is the country’s second-most popular sport according to Nielsen research released on Wednesday. Argentina is scheduled to begin its World Cup campaign on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City.

Messi has not confirmed his participation but is widely expected to appear in what would be a record sixth World Cup.