A police report has uncovered a plot to assassinate Argentine football icon Lionel Messi during the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, according to Spanish newspaper MARCA.
The outlet reported on Saturday that Messi received more threats than any other player at the tournament, citing a leaked police dossier that detailed several separate incidents in which suspects threatened to detonate explosives and storm stadiums where the Argentine captain was playing.
According to police report, the most serious of these threats surfaced just before Argentina’s Round of 16 clash with Egypt, when a suspect allegedly declared online, “I’m going to blow up Messi with four bombs strapped to my body.”
The outlet reported that the message triggered a full security sweep of the Atlanta stadium by sniffer dogs, after investigators separately received reports claiming explosives had been hidden inside bins around the venue.
“The search reportedly turned up nothing,” it said, adding that officials later confirmed the alert to be a false alarm.
A second major threat emerged ahead of Argentina’s group-stage fixture against Jordan. The publication reported that a man had called Dallas airport to announce that he and two accomplices were on their way to the stadium armed with homemade bombs and an AR-15 rifle, with Messi specifically named as their intended target.
It further disclosed that Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was also targeted during the tournament, reporting that several individuals were arrested over separate threats made against him.
The Spanish outlet added that security agencies, including the FBI, worked alongside international police partners throughout the World Cup to track and neutralise threats against high-profile players, underscoring the scale of the security operation mounted around the tournament’s biggest stars.
(The Whistler)