Lionel Messi must by now have gotten used to super-sized tributes to his greatness, yet fans keep finding grander ways to recognize his achievements.
The Argentina legend turns 39 years old on Wednesday, two days after making more World Cup history by breaking former Germany striker Miroslav Klose's all-time tournament goal record on Monday with his 17th and 18th goals in a 2-0 win over Austria.
In Cutral Col, a remote town in Patagonia, Messi was honored with (literally) the largest monument to his greatness, yet. Local artists unveiled an 85-foot (26-meter) statue of the soccer legend. Its likeness is perhaps questionable, but its sheer size -- it includes 70 tons of steel -- is enough to marvel at.
However, it's not the first time Messi has been replicated in an outsized statue, and last time things didn't quite go to plan.
The 70-foot Messi statue in India
Messi completed a promotional tour of India in December alongside his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul across multiple cities. One of the highlights of the three-day "GOAT Tour" event was a locally-produced statue of Messi in Kolkata, West Bengal, that stood an enormous 70-foot (21.3 meters).
Built over the course of 27 days, it was reported to be the largest statue of a footballer ever created, but it was precisely its size that provoked local authorities to order its removal earlier this month.
"The statue of the Argentine football legend was found [to be] unsafe," West Bengal state legislator Sharadwat Mukherjee said. "We have noticed that the statue is swaying in the wind."
Authorities were reportedly assessing alternative locations for its reassembling, but now an even bigger statue has been unveiled in Messi's honor, this time much closer to home.
Patagonia sculpture the tallest Messi statue yet
Cutral Co is an oil-producing town that has never attracted nearly as much attention as other Patagonian communities surrounded by picturesque lakes and mountains.
However, since the statue was inaugurated on June 16 to mark Argentina's World Cup opener, Cutral Co has seen an uptick in visitors.
The statue's 61-year-old local sculptor, Aldo Beroisa, has designed giant dinosaurs and monuments to his country's independence heroes. This sculpture, though, has created a new kind of buzz.
"He is Argentina's natural ambassador. For me, it was very important, not only as an artist but as an Argentine," Beroisa, 61, told The Associated Press.
The statue, which took 18 months to complete, depicts Messi falling to his knees on the grass at Lusail Stadium in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup final after Gonzalo Montiel sealed Argentina's 4-2 shootout victory over France and crowned the country world champions.
The statue also depicts Messi clutching Argentina's jersey with one hand and pointing to the sky with his index finger, as he often does when he scores a goal, in tribute to his late grandmother.
Tributes to Messi during this World Cup do not stop there.
A newly painted mural on the wall of a parking lot in a Buenos Aires suburb, which is around 20 feet wide and 18 feet high (six meters by 5.5 meters), is accompanied by the names of 1,300 of his fans, who travelled from neighboring towns to write their names.
"Crazy ... thank you very much to all of you, to the people who supported it, who came by, and who keep coming by," Messi said in a video sent to the creators.
The mural took artist Leonel García a total of 18 days to paint and is inspired by a gesture Messi made during a friendly match after Argentina's triumph in Qatar, when he appeared relaxed and seemed to be enjoying the game.
"This is a mural that I didn't make by myself. Beyond the fact that I painted it, it was made by more than 1,300 people," García told The Associated Press. "Messi brings joy to the country ... Messi unites everyone ... and the mural does that too, because people from everywhere come together here, from every social class and every political sector."
