Lionel Messi spent $35 million on a hotel facing demolition, and only found out about the problem when a Spanish newspaper asked him for comment

• Lionel Messi spent $35 million on a hotel that already had a demolition order against it.
• The building is now set to be torn down because its balconies are too big.

Lionel Messi spent $35 million on a hotel that already had a demolition order against it, and must now be knocked down because its balconies are too big.

Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reports that the 77-room Hotel MiM Sitges, which is situated close to the beach and seafront promenade of Sitges, just southwest of Barcelona, does not meet the required building standards.

Messi bought the building in 2017 for $35 million, at which point its demolition had already been approved by the Sitges Town Hall, the paper says.

El Confidencial says the Argentine soccer star was unaware of the demolition order until he was approached for comment by the publication.

On top of the hotel's balconies being too large, any attempt to remove or downsize them could result in the hotel collapsing, according to El Confidencial, meaning that the only way to proceed is to demolish the whole building.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom for Messi, who also owns hotels in Ibiza and Majorca, this past week, however.

Last Monday, the Paris Saint Germain forward collected the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time following an impressive 2020/21 season for FC Barcelona and his country.

The 34-year-old led Argentina to the Copa America in the summer and finished as the top scorer in La Liga last term with 30 goals.

In his acceptance speech, Messi paid homage to Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who finished second, saying the Pole should be retroactively awarded last year's prize, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think France Football should award you your 2020 Ballon d'Or, you deserved it," Messi said of the striker, who hit 55 goals during the 2019/20 campaign as Bayern won a treble.

Lewandowski has since hit out at Messi for his comments, calling his words "empty."

"I'm not that enthusiastic about getting the 2020 award," he said.

"'I would like it [Messi's 2020 Ballon d'Or statement] to be a sincere and courteous statement from a great player and not just empty words."