A giant statue of football star Lionel Messi erected in India to commemorate the Argentine’s visit last year is “swaying in the wind” and will be removed, a Calcutta official told AFP on Wednesday (27).
The instability of the 21-meter-high golden statue, which depicts Messi lifting the World Cup trophy, forced authorities to tie it to the ground with ropes.
The statue was unveiled during Messi’s so-called “GOAT Tour (Greatest of All Time, or the best of all time)” through India last December.
West Bengal state lawmaker Sharadwat Mukherjee admitted that the statue is unsafe: “We observed that the statue sways in the wind.”
On Wednesday, workers attached ropes to the statue to prevent it from falling onto a busy street.
“Removing the statue is easier said than done,” said Mukherjee, who did not specify whether the statue would be moved to a safer location.
