Climate activists on Tuesday spray-painted a mansion on Ibiza, owned by Argentina’s football star Lionel Messi, to underscore the wealthy’s role in the climate crisis.
The Futuro Vegetal group released a video showing two activists in front of the house near Cala Tarida on Ibiza’s western coast, displaying a banner that read, “Help the Planet – Eat the Rich – Abolish the Police.”
The activists proceeded to spray the building’s white facade with red and black paint.
In their statement, the group emphasized targeting the mansion to highlight the wealthy’s responsibility for climate change, citing its alleged status as an illegal construction.
Futuro Vegetal referenced a 2023 Oxfam report, which found that the richest 1% of the global population produced as much carbon emissions in 2019 as the poorest two-thirds of humanity, with the most vulnerable communities suffering the worst consequences of this crisis.
Messi, now playing for Inter Miami in the US, reportedly purchased the Mediterranean island property in 2022 from a Swiss businessman for around €11 million.
However, the mansion reportedly lacked a certificate of occupancy, a document issued by local authorities to certify it is livable, due to several unlicensed constructions within the property.
Futuro Vegetal, connected to similar international groups, has conducted numerous similar protests.
In 2022, they glued their hands to frames of Francisco de Goya’s paintings at Madrid’s Prado Museum.
The group, in 2023, also spray-painted a superyacht in Ibiza, allegedly belonging to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie, with the same colors.
In January, Spanish police reported arresting 22 Futuro Vegetal members, including the two involved in the Prado protest and the group’s top three leaders.
