Impoverished African nation Gabon denies paying Lionel Messi millions to lay stone at stadium
France Football claims star was paid 3.5 million euros
Gabon’s presidency denied paying four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi millions of dollars to lay the foundation stone for a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations stadium last weekend.
“The Republic of Gabon denies having paid, or even promised to pay, such a sum of money to the Argentinian international footballer Lionel Messi,” the presidency said in a statement.
The 28-year-old multi-millionaire travelled to Port-Gentil, the nation’s economic capital, at the invitation of President Ali Bongo, according to the statement.
Messi “accompanied the head of state to Port-Gentil to lay the foundation stone for the town’s future stadium, in the perspective of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (which Gabon is hosting),” the statement added.
Messi’s presence at the event had caused controversy on social media, with many Gabonese questioning the cost of his visit to a country where over a third of the population live below the poverty line, despite the nation boasting oil riches.