Lionel Messi’s villa on the Balearic island of Ibiza has been defaced with paint by climate activists. The Spanish group Futuro Vegetal released a video on Tuesday showing two members standing in front of the house holding a banner. The translated inscription reads: “Help the planet – Eat the rich – Abolish the police.” The activists then sprayed the white facade of the building with red and black paint.
The group said the action was intended to highlight the “responsibility of the rich for the climate crisis” by targeting the villa as an “illegal construction.” Messi has not yet publicly responded to the attack.
Lionel Messi bought Villa for eleven million euros
The Argentine world footballer, who currently plays for Inter Miami in the North American professional league MLS, is said to have bought the property on the west coast of Ibiza – which also includes a spa with sauna and a cinema hall – from a Swiss businessman in 2022 for around eleven million euros (twelve million dollars).
However, according to Spanish media reports, the villa lacked a document from a local government authority certifying that it was in a habitable condition, as several rooms on the property were said to have been built without permission.
You might also be interested in: Semi-final! Schröder celebrates victory against “Greek Freak” with mom and popcorn
In its statement, Futuro Vegetal also cited a 2023 Oxfam report that found that the richest one percent of the world’s population produced the same amount of carbon emissions in 2019 as the poorest two-thirds of humanity, even though the most vulnerable populations are bearing the “worst consequences” of this crisis. (aw/sid)
