High school students create Messi mural using bottle caps

When loyal and die-hard fans pay tribute to their idols, they do so with passion and every imaginable way they can think of. So it is no surprise that High school students in Argentina pieced together a massive mural of soccer superstar Lionel Messi out of thousands of recycled plastic bottle caps, almost nine months after the Argentine icon led the national team to global sport’s biggest prize.

The new mural fills the floor of an open-air high school courtyard in the Grand Bourg neighbourhood, just outside the capital Buenos Aires. It depicts the beaming forward holding aloft the golden World Cup trophy from last year’s win in Qatar, along with a caption offering thanks to the team’s tattooed captain

Sebastian Ramirez, a teacher at the school, posted a video clip on social media that went viral summing up a widely-held assessment of Messi’s legacy. “A tribute to the greatest,” he said

Messi has proved a strong unifying force in the South American country, even as triple-digit inflation and the spiralling descent of the local currency dominates debate ahead of October’s general election.

Messi who played for what looked like forever for Barcelona moved first to ligue 1 giants PSG before joining Major Soccer League side Inter Miami after lifting the FIFA world Cup in Qatar last year. The victory became the garnishing on the career of a magical player who has won virtually everything there is to win in the round leather game.