Messi's statue vandalised again

The statue of Lionel Messi in Buenos Aires has been vandalised again - this time the Argentine hero was cut off at the ankles between Sunday night and Monday morning. The boots still chased a ball on the plinth while the severed body was pushed to the ground and left lying there.

A Lionel Messi statue has been vandalised again - it has been chopped off just above the ankles!

More: https://t.co/aBW7ApDcRq pic.twitter.com/v7xxzfq1xO— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 4, 2017

The statue was erected in June 2016 after Messi had announced his retirement, brief as it turned out, from the national team. It was first attacked in early January when the Barcelona star was sliced in half across the torso.

A Lionel Messi statue in Argentina has had it's legs cut off. It's the second time the statue has been damaged since being unveiled in 2016. pic.twitter.com/gNuCOoUiLU

— Coral (@Coral) December 4, 2017

The statue is on the Promenade de Glorias, alongside monuments to other Argentinian sporting heroes including NBA veteran Manu Ginobili, tennis star Guillermo Vilas and Formula One great Juan Manuel Fangio. The neighbouring statues have not been immune to attack. In 2016, Gabriela Sabatini's tennis racket was stolen.