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Football legend Messi's ‘swaying’ statue from Mamata era taken down in Kolkata, may be relocated
Intervention by PWD followed complaints reportedly from local residents that the massive iron-and-fiberglass structure was swaying in high winds
Authorities in West Bengal on Monday brought down and took away a 70-foot statue of football legend Lionel Messi in Kolkata’s Lake Town neighborhood.
The intervention by the Public Works Department (PWD) followed a wave of complaints reportedly from local residents that the massive iron-and-fiberglass structure was swaying during recent spells of high wind. This, officials said, created a public safety hazard ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.
Heavy-duty hydraulic cranes and engineering teams swarmed the VIP Road stretch early Monday morning to secure and deconstruct the towering installation, which stood atop an underground pedestrian crossing.
The giant tribute, which depicts the Argentine superstar hoisting the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy, was virtually inaugurated during Messi's highly anticipated tour of India. That December 2025 ‘GOAT India Tour’ was marked by administrative lapses and violence at the stadium.
The removal carries political undertones, occurring just weeks after a historic shift in West Bengal’s governance.
In the state assembly elections concluded in May, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a landslide victory, winning 207 seats and ending 15 years of rule by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The giant Messi statue, constructed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, was heavily championed by former TMC minister Sujit Bose.
Since the BJP took power, several public infrastructure projects, sports sculptures, and symbolic monuments commissioned during the TMC era have faced heightened scrutiny.
On May 23, the state government took down a football-themed sculpture also in Kolkata.
Personally designed by the then CM Mamata Banerjee, it was removed after newly appointed sports minister Nisith Pramanik termed the design “unsightly”.
