Celebrate a football legend with a Messi LEGO® set

There are football legends. And then there is Lionel Messi.

Since the moment he burst onto the world footballing stage, he has become one of the most thrilling players to ever play the game. The Argentinian superstar has racked up millions of fans worldwide, scored hundreds of epic goals and won a lot of trophies, including, of course, the FIFA World Cup™.

Now, he is adding another fantastic achievement to his ever-growing list… becoming a stunning LEGO® set.

So, as we prepare to launch a brand-new set based on this gifted player, we wanted to show the care and attention that went into the design.

To find out more, we spoke to Zio Chao, Model Designer at the LEGO Group, to see what superfans can expect from this star-centred football set.

A football fan turned brick builder

“Growing up, I was really into playing football and watching games,” Zio says. “I spent most of my free time in school with my friends playing football, especially during the World Cup™.”

And it was here that Zio first came across Lionel Messi in the iconic white and sky blue of his national team.

Cut to, many years later, and Zio had to figure out what this legend would look like as a LEGO set. We asked him to tell us all about the design process.

“In the beginning, we discussed how to represent Lionel Messi’s celebration best,” he says. “And without doubt, the gesture when he scores and raises his arm and fingers to sky in honor of his grandmother is the most representative.”

But beyond just the figure, this model also sits on a detailed background.

“After we had the main icon, we also had a challenge to make a proper background for the model. We wanted the background to be interesting and not distract from the main figure. We came up with an abstract background, which is frameless and offers a perspective effect on the football field.”

The set was always intended for football fans and so the designers offered many ways to display it around the house.

“The Lionel Messi – Celebration set is an art piece that you can hang on the wall,” Zio says. “It is not the common square or rectangular painting, but it is more like a unique art sculpture built by LEGO bricks. It is presented in 2.5 dimensions, so when you see it, you may see Lionel Messi is celebrating on the field as the iconic moment.”

This set has 1,427 pieces and measures over 15 in. (38 cm) high, 18.5 in. (47 cm) wide and 2 in. (5 cm) deep, so wherever you display it, it will catch eyes and start conversations.

Details hidden in the design

Our designers love to bury hidden details or Easter eggs in their sets, and Zio is no exception! So we asked him what details superfans can expect to find in this new set.

“It is always a lot of fun to put some hidden details and Easter eggs in the model!” he says. “There are many interesting elements in the greebling of the background. For example, there is an azure hat and rings on the sky area and bright green dogs and sausages on the field. We also put a super cool hidden feature in the model that people will only see when they build the set. It honors Lionel Messi and his unbelievable career. We even included a whole new decal element specially for him… a ‘G.O.A.T.’.”

Celebrating one of the greats

Now that football fans can get their hands on this magnificent Lionel Messi model, we asked Zio why he thought people would love this set.
“This is the first time we make an art piece for the celebration moment of a great athlete,” he says. “If people love Lionel Messi, then they will love this meaningful set. But even non-football fans will enjoy building it and finding the details in the process. And when builders are finished, they can display the achievements of Lionel Messi on the wall.”
Sounds as good as a goal!
So, whether you’re a football superfan looking to add to a fan corner somewhere in your home or are looking for a gift for someone who is mad about Lionel Messi, then get your hands on the LEGO Editions Lionel Messi – Celebration set now.