Lionel Messi has had a remarkable year so far. Inter Miami, which he joined last year for a reported $150 million, is currently the highest-earning team in Major League Soccer. In June, the Argentine national team won the highly anticipated Copa América with Messi at the helm. While the 2022 World Cup winners have had some downtime, it doesn’t look like they’ll ever catch a break.
On August 7, Messi's mansion on the Spanish island of Ibiza was vandalised and the walls outside his home were covered in spray-painted graffiti. Climate group Futuro Vegetal claimed responsibility for the action as activists sought to make a statement about the generosity and carbon footprint of millionaires.
“We painted Messi's illegal mansion in Ibiza,” Futuro Vegetal said on social media. “The mansion is an illegal structure that the footballer bought for an exorbitant €11 million.” Protesters posed with a banner that read: “Help the planet, eat the rich, abolish the police.”
💥 ACTUAMOUS 💥
We examine Messi's mansion in Ibiza 🧯
La Mansión has become an illegal construction site that footballers bought for an exorbitant €11m 🤑https://t.co/mslVlqLvfd pic.twitter.com/aK8GUqsr9i
— FuturoVegetal🍒 (@FuturoVegetal) August 6, 2024
“We are taught that the powerful are untouchable. It is true that policies are written and interpreted to serve those who have the most, directly attacking the rights of the rest of the population. But they are only the one percent,” another posted, which included a video of protesters covering the outside of a building in red and black paint.
💥 ACTUAMOUS 💥
There is no need to plug the wires into the wires. This is a further reorganization and interpretation of the policy, but directly against the shortcomings of the rest of the people. But only the 1% alone. picture.twitter.com/wV1kFl03Xc
— FuturoVegetal🍒 (@FuturoVegetal) August 6, 2024
The protest drew criticism from Argentina's ardent libertarian president, Javier Milei.
“In Spain, communists who want to 'kill the rich and eliminate the police to end climate change' vandalized a house belonging to Lionel Messi and his family,” Milei wrote on X after the incident. “I stand in solidarity with the Messi family for this cowardly and delusional act and I urge the government to [Spanish prime minister] Pedro Sánchez will guarantee the security of Argentine citizens living in the Kingdom of Spain.”
“Communism is an ideology that thrives on jealousy, hatred and resentment towards those who succeed. It has no place in the free and civilized world,” Milei concluded. “Long live freedom, damn it!”
En España, los comunistas que quieren "Change the climate and abolish the policy to end climate change" A house belonging to Lionel Messi and his family were damaged.
I am in solidarity with Messi's family and I am successful in this regard and I beg Pedro…
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) August 6, 2024
It’s not the first time climate activists have tried to make a statement with high-profile protests. In recent years, they’ve poured soup on famous paintings and glued themselves to airport runways.
Messi is also not the first celebrity figure to be at the centre of these protests. In June, activists in the UK attempted to vandalise Taylor Swift's private jet with orange paint and also covered two other nearby planes.
Messi has not yet made a statement about the incident that took place at his home.