Giant mural tribute to Messi

With his arms crossed and a face bursting with pride, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi towers above all those on the main street of Bronnitsy, a town of 20,000 residents some 50 kilometres from Moscow.

“When I was painting Messi, I was painting a legend of my time,” says Sergey Erofeev, the artist responsible for the huge mural of Messi located on a wall just a short walk from Argentina’s World Cup team base.

Eager to show his masterpiece from all angles to curious passers-by, he explained how he won a competition to earn the honour of producing a work to commemorate the five-time world player of the year.

He added that he would like for Messi to come and see the painting at some stage during the tournament.