Lionel Messi Details "Difficult, Complicated Days" Ahead of World Cup 2026
The latest tribute to Lionel Messi missed the mark.
After an 85-foot statue was put up in Patagonia, Argentina in honor of the famed soccer player during the FIFA World Cup, fans took note of an awkward, NSFW mistake.
Messi's statue sees the player donning an Argentina jersey and kneeling over a World Cup trophy, which is placed directly between his legs.
While artist Aldo Berosia told the New York Times that his statue of Messi was envisioned with the Argentina native—who helped lead his country to a win in 2022—holding the World Cup trophy in his hand, he had it moved to between his legs citing safety concerns.
However, fans took note that the trophy’s new placement between the Messi statue’s kneeling legs was not ideal.
As one fan wrote in a comment about the statue on Instagram, “Looks like reverse cowgirl.”
Another added, “Oh my.... This is Messy.”
And since the statue had no shorts to match its Argentina jersey, one fan posited, “Why does he not have pants on.”
Other fans were getting into the spirit of competition that the World Cup inspires, with one joking, “Whoever approved this is a secret Ronaldo fan,” referring to Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Berosia didn’t anticipate the backlash on the positioning of the trophy. Instead, the local Argentinian artist was more concerned about getting Messi’s facial features just right.
“All the public opinion’s eyes are going to be on the face,” Berosia told the New York Times. “If I don’t get the face right, everything I built falls apart.”
Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Indeed, since Berosia typically sculpts dinosaur or Jesus Christ statues, he was determined to get every detail of Messi's facial features correct. At one point, he even broke the statue’s eyes and started from scratch because his wife felt there was something wrong with them.
Nevertheless, Berosia was well aware that the public would have thoughts on his design—no matter how it turned out.
“You can manage to convey what Christ looked like, or in the Last Supper—what the apostles looked like is open to interpretation,” he added. “But with this one, you can’t make a mistake. Messi is Messi.”
Messi isn’t the only international player with dedicated fans. Keep reading for every star athlete to watch…
Eric Alonso/Getty Images
Lamine Yamal
Age: 18
World Cup Team: Spain
Current Soccer Club: FC Barcelona (Spain)
Position: Midfielder
Don't let Yamal's age fool you. In just two years since his debut, the Spaniard already has a UEFA European Football Championship under his belt. He was also the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or—also known as the "Golden Ball," an award recognizing the best soccer player of the year—in 2025.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Lionel Messi
Age: 38
World Cup Team: Argentina
Current Soccer Club: Inter Miami CF (United States)
Position: Forward
History has its eyes on Messi, who is the most decorated player in the world of soccer. Not only is he the defending World Cup champion, but the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is on the cusp of becoming the first player to win back-to-back World Cups as the captain of his national team.
Clicks Images/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo
Age: 41
World Cup Team: Portugal
Current Soccer Club: Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia)
Position: Forward
There's a reason why Ronaldo is considered one of the greatest players of all time. After all, he's scored over 970 goals in his career so far and shows no signs of stopping. He scored at least 100 goals while playing with each of his former clubs—Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus—as well as over 130 goals with his national team.
Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images
Harry Kane
Age: 32
World Cup Team: England
Current Soccer Club: Bayern Munich (Germany)
Position: Forward
Known as one of the best strikers of his generation, Kane is serving as the captain of England's national team for the third consecutive World Cup. In fact, the London native scored the winning goal at the team's warm-up match against New Zealand on June 6.
Stefan Matzke - sampics/Getty Images
Jamal Musiala
Age: 23
World Cup Team: Germany
Current Soccer Club: Bayern Munich (Germany)
Position: Midfielder
Ever since kicking off his professional soccer career at age 16, Musiala has been nicknamed "Bambi" for his graceful movements on the pitch. He made his World Cup debut at the 2022 tournament.
Heuler Andrey/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Neymar
Age: 34
World Cup Team: Brazil
Current Soccer Club: Santos FC (Brazil)
Position: Forward
Born Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, the mononymous sensation is his home country's all-time leading scorer after surpassing Pelé's 52-year record in 2023. He's looking to lead his team back to World Cup glory for the first time since 2002.
Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images
Luka Modric
Age: 40
World Cup Team: Croatia
Current Soccer Club: AC Milan (Italy)
Position: Midfielder
Considered Croatia's greatest soccer player, Modric captained the nation's team to a third-place victory at the 2018 World Cup. He also holds the record for most caps for Croatia, playing for the country more than 190 times on the international stage.
Angel Martinez/Getty Images
Kylian Mbappe
Age: 27
World Cup Team: France
Current Soccer Club: Real Madrid (Spain)
Position: Forward
Mbappe took home the World Cup when he made his debut in 2018. And after coming close in 2022, with Argentina defeating France in a penalty shoot-out, the Frenchman is undoubtedly entering this year's competition with fire in his belly.
Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images
Vinicius Junior
Age: 25
World Cup Team: Brazil
Current Soccer Club: Real Madrid (Spain)
Position: Forward
Born Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior, the Brazilian soccer superstar was crowned The Best FIFA Men’s Player and runner-up to the Ballon d'Or in 2024. In his second World Cup appearance, Vini Jr. is hoping to end Brazil's 24-year wait for the trophy.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。