Ruptly
"With a height of 26 meters, the city of Cutral Co in Neuquen is moving forward with the construction of a monumental sculpture of the captain of the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi, which promises to become the largest in the world and will be located on National Route 22 in the southwest of Argentina. The project is being carried out by Neuquen-based sculptor Aldo Beroisa, who confirmed that the work will show Messi lifting the World Cup trophy and that they aim to inaugurate it before the 2026 World Cup. According to the artist, the structure will surpass by several meters another sculpture of the footballer located in India, which currently holds the world record. "This is the 26-meter Messi statue. We are surpassing the one in India by five meters. It is practically the tallest statue in the world," said sculptor Aldo Beroisa. The sculpture will be assembled in parts due to its enormous size. The torso, bust, and the arm holding the trophy will be transported and assembled using a 70-ton crane. In addition, about twelve people are working on the construction and painting of the piece, which will feature the traditional colors of the Argentina national team and whose construction began in 2024. "The size involves many kilos of concrete and iron, and we have been working little by little to avoid losing details," the artist explained. One of the biggest challenges was recreating the face of the current world champion on a monumental scale. Beroisa said there were days when he could not sleep due to the complexity of the work. "The head was what took me the most time. I practically spent two months struggling with the head (...) there were three days when I could not sleep because I could not figure out the mouth, and it has a very special shape in the eyes," said Beroisa. Cutral Co already has around 20 monuments distributed in different areas of the city, including El Cristo, La Ultima Cena, and the Via Crucis. "I don't know if you noticed the resemblance, and well, we made it in his honor. It would be great for us, for Neuquen, for Cutral Co, for the nation, our country, for him to come to this place," added the sculptor. With this new work, the Neuquen locality adds a new highly striking landmark dedicated to the greatest football icon of Argentina."
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