Lionel Messi's 'illegal' mansion in Ibiza vandalized by climate activists - Reports

Sripad
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 - Portraits - Source: Getty
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 - Portraits - Source: Getty

Lionel Messi's mansion in Ibiza, Spain, has reportedly been vandalized by climate activists. Two members of the Futuro Vegetal group poured red and black paint on the Argentine's property.

As per a report in The Huffington Post, the climate activists broke into the mansion earlier this week, and also shared images of the same on social media. The Inter Miami star reportedly purchased the property in 2022 and stays there between seasons.

The activists posed in front of the vandalized villa and held a poster that read:

"Help the planet, eat the rich, abolish the police."

Futuro Vegetal also posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that read:

"We tinted Messi's illegal mansion in Ibiza. The mansion is an illegal construction that the footballer acquired for the exorbitant sum of 11 million euros. While this is happening, in the Balearic Islands alone between 2 and 4 people have died as a direct consequence of the heat wave. The richest 1% of the population is responsible for the same amount of carbon emissions as the poorest two-thirds.
"This is only possible because public authorities support an economic-social system that threatens life. While the far right blames migrants for the crisis and displays extreme violence against them, those of us who fight for a better world are clear that the problem is social inequality. Let's tackle the problems at the root. We need a radical change of system to face the Climate Crisis."

Neither Lionel Messi nor his team have responded to the claims of vandalism.

Lionel Messi is currently out injured

Lionel Messi picked up an ankle injury during the Copa America final earlier this summer and has since been on the sidelines. Inter Miami, however, have not yet felt his absence.

The MLS side are on top of the Eastern Conference with 53 points from their first 25 matches of the season. Lionel Messi also missed the Leagues Cup clashes against Tigers UNAL and Puebla, both of which his side won.

They will now face Toronto FC in the Round of 32 of the competition.

Quick Links

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava