A 70 foot iron statue of football icon Lionel Messi has been installed at the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town, Kolkata, depicting the Argentine great holding the FIFA World Cup trophy.
The statue has drawn crowds of fans and curious onlookers, but it has also triggered sharp reactions online, especially after a Germany based vlogger shared his unfiltered views on social media.
Vlogger’s viral reaction
Taking to Instagram, German vlogger Alexander Welder posted a video of himself standing in front of the statue shortly after landing in Kolkata. In the clip, he appeared visibly stunned as he said, “I just landed in Kolkata, India, and it turns out Lionel Messi is here. The GOAT himself is in freaking Kolkata, India, and behind me they built a freaking 70 tall statue of Lionel Messi. Check this one out here. It feels like I am in an Argentina football game at the World Cup and not in India.”
Welder went on to question the priorities behind the project, adding, “What in the parallel universe is going on here. This is crazy, guys. And apparently they built this statue here in only 40 days. I do not know what the locals think about this, because the metro here literally took decades to build, the streets are broken, so many things do not work, but for the GOAT himself, they only need 40 days to build the largest Lionel Messi statue in the world here.”
{{/usCountry}}Welder went on to question the priorities behind the project, adding, “What in the parallel universe is going on here. This is crazy, guys. And apparently they built this statue here in only 40 days. I do not know what the locals think about this, because the metro here literally took decades to build, the streets are broken, so many things do not work, but for the GOAT himself, they only need 40 days to build the largest Lionel Messi statue in the world here.”
{{/usCountry}}In the comment section of his own post, Welder added another pointed remark, writing, “Build a statue of another nations player holding the World Cup… or… Use funds to support grassroots football in your own country to improve chances of making their first ever World Cup… Hmm I wonder which one India chose.”
Take a look here at the clip:
Online reactions pour in
The clip has amassed several reactions, with users sharply divided over Welder’s comments. One user wrote, “Messi has fans all over the world, this is just passion for football.” Another said, “Instead of mocking, maybe understand Indian football culture first.” A third commented, “He is not wrong about grassroots football though.” Another user remarked, “Kolkata has always loved football, this is nothing new.” One reaction read, “The statue may not be perfect but the emotion is real.” Another remarked, “This is embarrassing and impressive at the same time.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)