Argentine President Javier Milei has expressed his solidarity with Lionel Messi and his family after their mansion in Ibiza was vandalised by climate change activists and called on the Spanish government to guarantee the safety of Argentine citizens.
A group of vandals broke into Messi's 11 million euro ($12 million) property on the Spanish island on Tuesday and covered the walls with red and black paint.
The vandals also posed in the garden holding a banner written in English that read: “Help the planet. Eat the rich. Abolish the police.”
Milei, Argentina's libertarian leader who took office last December, sought to blame “communism” while supporting Messi in a post on X: “In Spain, communists who want to 'kill the rich and abolish the police to end climate change' vandalized a house of Lionel Messi and his family.
“I stand in solidarity with the Messi family for this cowardly and delusional act and I ask the government of Pedro Sánchez to guarantee the safety of Argentine citizens living in the Kingdom of Spain.
“Communism is an ideology fueled by envy, hatred and resentment towards those who succeed. It has no place in a free and civilized world.”
Messi, who bought the exclusive home in 2022 after leaving Barcelona, was not in the property at the time but has used it during his holidays on the island.
The activists said in a statement that with this act of “non-violent civil disobedience” they wanted to blame the rich for the climate crisis while also drawing attention to the Spanish government's lack of action.
According to activists, Messi's mansion was built “illegally.”
The Inter Miami forward is currently recovering from an ankle injury suffered during the recent Copa America.
