Aldo Beroisa Races to Finish 85-Foot Messi Statue Before 2026 World Cup

Q: Can a 70-ton statue made from scrap pipes truly capture the legacy of a living legend still playing today?

Yes—but only as a symbol of Messi’s legacy, not a complete record of it. The 85-foot, 70-ton monument in Cutral Có already says something important about Lionel Messi: his stature in Argentina has moved beyond sport into national identity. Built from old oil pipes by Aldo Beroisa over 18 months and funded by the city for about $130,000, the statue turns local industrial scrap into a public shrine to a player many Argentines describe in near-mythic terms. Its scale, recycled material and timing during the 2026 World Cup make it a statement about collective devotion as much as about Messi himself. It also captures a specific chapter of his legacy very well. Messi is no longer just a brilliant player; he is the face of Argentina’s World Cup triumph, Copa América success and a unifying figure for fans who treat football as ritual. The statue depicts him with the World Cup trophy, fixing in steel the achievement that settled much of the debate over his place in history. But a monument to a living athlete has limits. Messi, now 39, is still adding to his record in a sixth World Cup, including becoming the men’s tournament’s all-time leading scorer. A static sculpture cannot keep pace with a career still evolving. It can honor what he already represents, but it cannot fully contain what he may yet become. So the statue does not capture the whole legacy. It captures the scale of Argentina’s feeling about him—and that may be the more truthful tribute.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 27

In Cutral Có, Argentina, sculptor Aldo Beroisa is scrambling to complete final details on an 85-foot Lionel Messi statue, from straightening a finger to adding leg muscles, shorts and a net over the mouth.
The 70-ton monument has taken more than a year to build from old oil pipes, with Beroisa welding a steel skeleton in the Patagonian desert as Messi pursues a second straight World Cup title.
Patagonian winds have damaged parts of the work, gravity once snapped the statue’s arm, and Beroisa said he recently suffered a fall that left his ankles swollen while rushing to finish it.
The city spent about $130,000 on the statue, which now towers over the remote oil town and has become a local attraction for children and passing bikers.