Lionel Messi Lays Foundation For New Stadium As He Spends Vacation in Gabon (Photos)

 

Argentine football legend and Barcelona star Lionel Messi spent a part of his vacation on a visit to Gabon on Saturday, Juy 18, where he helped to lay the foundation for a new 20,000-seat stadium in Port-Gentil.

 

The Barcelona player was a guest of President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Saturday to lay the ground for a new facility that will host matches of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

 

He signed autographs for many joyous fans before he was driven in a presidential convoy to the scene of the foundation laying ceremony.

 

“When I was in Barcelona a few years ago, I saw Messi and he said he would come to visit me in Libreville,” President Bong said.

 

“It was a promise which he made to me. He is a man of honour, one who has kept his word. The calendar worked out well and it has corresponded with the laying of the first stone,” the Gabonese leader added.