Barcelona Sculpture of Blaugrana star vandalised

In Paseo de las Glorias in Buenos Aires there is a statue of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, and on Sunday night it became the victim of a vandalism attack, with both legs being removed.

This the second time the statue has been vandalised, following its unveiling on June 28, 2016 - suffering damage in January 2017.

The sculpture, which was created by Carlos Benavides, will now be transferred to the Department of Monuments and Works of Art in the Argentine capital.

La estatua de Lionel Messi fue víctima de un ataque de vandalismo al aparecer este domingo con sus piernas cortadas https://t.co/PEK4ymBVn5pic.twitter.com/TforcpEJUU ? 24 HORAS (@diario24horas) 4 de diciembre de 2017

Paseo de las Glorias displays a number of statues of famous Argentinian sporting figures, including basketball player Manu Ginobili, former rugby star Hugo Porta, Luciana Aymar who made their name in field hockey, and Roberto de Vincenzo, Pascual Perez and Juan Manuel Fangio from golf, boxing and Formula 1 respectively.

Th area has undergone significant redevelopment as Buenos Aires prepares to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.