Terror plot to 'storm World Cup game with bombs and kill Lionel Messi' uncovered

FBI and IPCC logs show Lionel Messi received the most threats during the World Cup, including a disturbing incident where a man claimed he would carry guns and bombs to a game

Messi received the most threats during the World Cup(Image: DiaEsportivo/Action Plus/Shutterstock)

Terrorists planned to attack Lionel Messi by storming a World Cup match with guns and bombs, a police report states.

A catalogue of threats were made during the tournament, held in the US, including from a man who was arrested trying to get into a lift with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Reports from the International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC) and FBI also show the referee of the Argentina-Egypt match, Francois Letezier, was targeted with more than 6,000 threats on his personal WhatsApp - and his family back in France received police protection. The security reports have been revealed by Spanish newspaper Informacion.es.

The reports note how one man wrote on X ahead of the Argentina clash with Egypt on July 7: "I'm going to walk into the Atlanta stadium and blow up Messi with four bombs stuck in my body."

Ronaldo

There were many reports of Cristiano Ronaldo being harassed(Image: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The most concrete threat against Messi arose when a man called Dallas airport and announced that he and two other individuals were heading to the city's stadium with "homemade bombs and an AR-15".

In his message, he stated that they intended to attack "police officers and players from both teams" but the alleged terrorist made "special mention of Lionel Messi".

Several explosives specialists, canine handlers and their K-9 agents searched the Atlanta stadium after another man called police during the game and announced he had left "three bombs" in litter bins in the stadium.

According to the dossier, Messi received the most threats while Ronaldo was the most harassed while during the competition.

On June 14, a FIFA employee reported "a suspicious man" who was asking for "details" about Ronaldo's accommodation at his hotel. Houston police identified and arrested that man two days later when he was at the hotel where Ronaldo was staying with his national team.

Another man was arrested in Toronto for a very similar incident when Ronaldo was there. This time, the supporter tried to get into the elevator with the Portuguese star when he was arrested. He said he just wanted to take a selfie with CR7.

Other incidents with Ronaldo occurred in Miami, when a man tried to gain access to him, and during the Portugal-Croatia match, when a man dressed in a Ronaldo shirt jumped onto the field.

Another of the many players singled out with threats was Kylian Mbappé, who had an ongoing argument with Paraguay's goalkeeper during the clash with France.

The police report said the Real Madrid player was insulted with "xenophobic" abuse online, while a doll with Mbappé's image "was burned and broadcast" on social networks in Paraguay on July 5 and 6.