A Brazil supporter now owns the imposing Lionel Messi cutout that was placed in a river in Kerala’s Kozhikode district weeks before the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar.
On Tuesday, the Pullavoor residents carefully removed the now-famous installation, secured it to a truck, and transported it to Ameen’s property.
Ameen has acquired other cutouts in addition to the 30-foot Messi sculpture. The 50-foot cutouts of Cristiano Ronaldo and 35-foot cutouts of Neymar, who had previously stood next to Messi in the river, have been relocated to Ameen’s sports complex.
‘I’ll be having them in the swimming pool-equipped auditorium.’ Ameen told Onmanorama, ‘It’s extremely tall, so perhaps we can preserve it standing as it stood in the river.’
The first cutout to surface in the river was Messi’s, at the request of Argentina Fans Pullavoor. Ameen was a part of the Brazil fan club when Neymar was soon presented. The third member of the Trinity to join was Cristiano.
Placed on scaffoldings, the cutouts quickly attracted notice on a global scale. Even FIFA, the organisation that governs world football, praised the efforts of supporters from a region in a nation that has never competed in the men’s world cup.
Soon after, there was criticism and the possibility of legal action as a supporter accused a number of infractions, including river contamination. Although Neymar’s Brazil and Cristiano’s Portugal were eliminated in the quarterfinals, football fans rallied behind and the cutouts persisted until Messi led Argentina to victory on December 18.
Originally, the fan groups intended to move the cutouts to a nearby plot of land where the Pullavoor Premier League is held. But in order to avoid further legal problems, they abandoned that proposal.
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