Messi is under a curse.
A Brazilian fan’s bizarre World Cup 2026 curse on Lionel Messi.
A Brazilian fan has devised an extremely unusual way to prevent Argentina from defending their World Cup title. His target is none other than Lionel Messi and his teammates. With all 48 teams having completed their opening matches at the 2026 World Cup, the tournament’s landscape is becoming clearer.
Among the top contenders, several teams have quickly asserted their dominance. France impressed with a 3-1 victory over Senegal, England beat Croatia 4-2, and defending champions Argentina sent a strong warning with a 3-0 win over Algeria.
Leading Argentina’s performance was once again Lionel Messi. The 38-year-old superstar scored a hat-trick in this match, equaling the record of 16 World Cup goals held by legend Miroslav Klose. With Argentina still having matches against Austria and Jordan in the group stage, it’s almost certain that Messi will soon become the top scorer in World Cup history.
Messi Suddenly Under a Curse (Photo: Marca)
The Curse Targets Messi
While Argentina prepares for their crucial match against Austria on June 22nd, a rather strange story is attracting attention in Philadelphia. A Brazilian fan, hoping to prevent Argentina from winning their second consecutive World Cup, sought out one of America’s most famous “curses.”
This person brought Messi’s jersey to the Rocky Balboa monument in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and draped the jersey over the statue. This act wasn’t simply a joke.
According to a famous Philadelphia sports legend, any team or athlete whose jersey is draped over the Rocky statue will lose their next game. This belief is known as the “Rocky Curse.”
Brazilian fans draped Messi’s jersey over the Rocky Balboa statue (source: ge)
Many teams have been victims.
In Philadelphia, this curse is taken quite seriously by many. Over the years, numerous sports teams from the NFL, NBA, and MLB have been said to have experienced bad luck after being associated with the Rocky Balboa statue.
Most recently, Ecuador was the case at the 2026 World Cup. Before their opening match, thousands of Ecuadorian fans gathered in front of the museum, carrying national flags and even dressing the Rocky statue in their team jerseys to celebrate.
The result was not very happy. Ecuador unexpectedly lost to Ivory Coast 0-1 due to a late goal and was quickly listed by netizens as the “latest victim” of this unlucky statue.
The curse’s notoriety is so great that the Pennsylvania State Department of Tourism even issued a humorous notice to the teams participating in the World Cup in Philadelphia.
The list of countries receiving the “warning” includes Brazil, Haiti, France, Iraq, Curaçao, Croatia, and Ghana. In the announcement, the agency wrote: “Pennsylvania welcomes you… and as hosts, we warn you about the curse of the Rocky statue.”
Will Messi be affected?
Of course, no one knows for sure whether putting Messi’s shirt on the Rocky statue will actually affect Argentina’s journey. However, the intentions of Brazilian fans are quite clear.
They don’t want to see their South American rivals become only the third team in history to successfully defend their World Cup title. This achievement hasn’t happened since Brazil did it in 1958 and 1962.
Therefore, besides their on-field rivals, Messi and Argentina now face another special “opponent”: the superstitious stories and the famous curse of Philadelphia.
Will the “Rocky Curse” be enough to stop Messi from continuing to write history? The answer will only be revealed on the pitch.
