Lionel Messi's statue in Argentina vandalised on the same day Ronaldo wins best player award (Photos)

It was one of those Mondays Lionel Messi would not like to remember much. The Barcelona star lost to Cristiano Ronaldo in the FIFA Best Men's Player Award in Switzerland. As if enough isn't enough, news and photos of his vandalised statue in the capital city of Buenos Aires in Argentina started to emerge.

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The new year has not been memorable for Messi so far, as Barcelona has not won a single game this year. His team lost to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey first leg while they drew against Villarreal in the La Liga. And now, the statue incident.

The pictures of his damaged statue, which are all over the internet, show Messi's statue split into two. 

No one knows who and why has Messi's statue in the capital city of Argentina has been attacked? The Buenos Aires government is aware of it being vandalized, and the process of repair has also started. 

"The statue of Lionel Messi fell victim to an act of vandalism that left the footballer's sculpture without its top half. The City Government is now working on its repair," a statement from the Buenos Aires city government read.

The statue, which is located on the banks of the Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires, was built last year in June with the hope that Messi would reconsider his retirement decision. The forward had called it quits after losing to Chile in the Copa America final last year, where he also missed a penalty. People from all walks of life came out in the open asking Messi to come out of retirement, and the skipper decided to come back and play for Argentina again later that year.