In September 2022, the Argentine footballer Leo Messi, who plays for David Beckham’s Inter Miami, bought a mansion in Sant Josep (Ibiza) for 11 million euros but it was in an irregular situation, without a building permit or a certificate of habitability, according to information published at the time by Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera.
And it appears that the bureaucratic problem continues and it could lead to the worst possible outcome. The footballer could face the partial demolition of his home on the island due to irregularities in the planning permission. The problem dates back several years, when the island’s authorities decided to open a planning case against the football star for alleged illegal work on the property, which covers 548 square metres.
The “mansion” came under suspicion in 2022, just when Lionel Messi decided to buy the property. It is built on common rustic land, and therefore not for development, in Cala Tarida. Messi’s luxury pad was back in the news last year when he slapped the eco-warriors Futuro Vegetal with a 50,000 euros bill for compensation for criminal damage caused when activists vandalised his villa in Ibiza. The spokesman for the environmental group Bilbo Bassaterra confirmed the amount claimed in the complaint, which was filed with the Guardia Civil by a Messi employee on the island.
A spokesperson and two other members of Futuro Vegetal were arrested by the Guardia Civil two days after the protest at Messi’s house to denounce the “responsibility of the rich” in the climate crisis.
The protest at the football player’s house took place on 6 August and the three activists were arrested on 8 August after throwing paint on the façade of the Leonardo Royal Hotel, located in Santa Eulària, which they accuse of financing the genocide in Gaza.