KAZAN, June 28 (Sputnik) - A graffiti depicting Argentina striker and captain Lionel Messi will be painted in the Russian city of Kazan where the South Americans will play France on Saturday, an employee of the city's mayor's office told Sputnik Thursday.
Argentina, who will face France in the last 16, are expected to stay at the same hotel where Portugal were staying during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. A mural of Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was painted outside of the hotel ahead of the tournament.
Local media reported earlier that Messi had asked for a graffiti depicting him to be painted next to the hotel. However, the mayor's office employee said that he had not heard of such a demand.
"We are indeed painting a graffiti portraying Messi, but we planned to do it already last year, and Kazan mayor Ilsur Metshinmentioned that," he said.
In 2017, Metshin told journalists that there were plenty of locations in Kazan where portraits of prominent footballers, namely Messi, could be painted.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches set to be played in 11 cities across Russia. After hosting the round of 16 match on Saturday, Kazan will also host a quarter-final on July 7.
And from what has been displayed already, there is a clear view without any doubt that He (messi) has already given out his best to make sure that they qualify to the next level.
Though France is one strong side as they, it is never so possible to predict who will push forward to the next stage.
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