A statue of Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi was vandalised in Buenos Aires on Monday.

The figure, which was constructed in an attempt to help convince the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to return to the national team during his brief retirement from the Albiceleste this summer, was found missing its top half.

However, officials in the Argentine capital said repairs have already begun.

‘The statue of Lionel Messi fell victim to an act of vandalism that left the footballer’s sculpture without its top half,’ the Buenos Aires city government said in a statement. ‘The City Government is now working on its repair,’ they added.

The statue is located on the ‘Paseo de la Gloria’ with other Argentine athletic figures such as tennis champion Gabriela Sabatini and NBA and world champion Manu Ginobili among others. It was unveiled only last June and was part of a campaign to get the Barcelona maestro to reconsider his international retirement—which he’s since done.

The vandalism comes as Messi’s closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo scooped yet another world’s best player prize; perhaps the year’s most prestigious at FIFA revamped awards on Monday night. Only Lionel Messi’s legs and a ball predictably attached to his left boot remain of a statue erected in his honour in Argentina.

Messi’s likeness was broken at the waste, leaving a noticeable gap in the Glory Walkway featuring a host of star’s statues now as it’s been taken away to be restored.