While Cristiano Ronaldo was busy picking up his latest FIFA trinket on Monday, Lionel Messi was suffering the ignominy of having his entire upper body stolen.
To clarify, vandals somehow managed to scarper with the entire top half of the Messi statue that was unveiled on the Paseo de la Gloria in Buenos Aires only six months ago.
The statue of Lionel Messi in Buenos Aires has somehow been cut in half by vandals pic.twitter.com/JFVIWhEeYO
— Peter Coates (@golazoargentino) January 9, 2017
After the entirely odd theft was reported, the Buenos Aires municipal government issued the following statement:
The statue of Lionel Messi fell victim to an act of vandalism that left the footballer’s sculpture without its top half.
Its repair is now being worked on.
Sadly, CCTV footage captured at the scene proved to be inconclusive, with the vandal concealing his face while hacking the statue to bits…
Local freelance bronze smelters have been asked to be extra vigilant.