The 80-foot statue of footballer Lionel Messi was first met with applause, until the images went viral for the wrong reasons.
The statue was unveiled in the town of Cutral Có, a small town in Argentina in the Patagonia region. It is designed by artist Aldo Berosia, who has previously created statues ranging from Jesus Christ to dinosaurs. The 80-foot-tall statue, which weighs 70 tons, is the largest statue dedicated to a sports figure.
The entire projects, which costs $130,000, faced a number of obstacles over the course of more than a year. It faced harsh winds and its own unyielding weight, which led to multiple damages to the statue during the construction.
However, soon after the news of the statue spread, social media users started noticing the pose of the statue, which seems comical and suggestive from certain angles. Soon, memes started circulating about the same, with many calling it “embarrassing”. The problem was the placement of the World Cup trophy, which is placed in front of Messi’s figure between his legs. From certain angles, the users found the image suggestive – though various users had various interpretations. Berosia, when asked to comment, said that the original design had Messi holding the trophy, but stability and safety concerns led to the decision of its current placement.
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The reaction stood in sharp contrast to the initial reception, which praised the statue and appreciated its design. The mayor of the town had said: “This is going to be our Sistine Chapel. You can manage to convey what Christ looked like, or in the Last Supper—what the apostles looked like is open to interpretation. But with this one, you can’t make a mistake. Messi is Messi.”
