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Messi World Cup Hotel Gazes Onto Mural of Rival

Maxim Tumanov / TASS

When Argentina takes up France on Saturday in Kazan, star striker Lionel Messi will reportedly be staying in a hotel looking out on a giant mural of his rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

The five-meter mural on a building next to the Ramada Hotel was commissioned by the city authorities last year when the Portugal team was in Kazan for the Confederations Cup, the BusinessOnline outlet reports.

“It’s worth pointing out that the mural is not visible from every room,” the outlet wrote. “So Leo still has a chance to book a room as far away [from the mural] as possible.”

Kazan’s Mayor Ilsur Metshin last year told journalists a similar mural would be painted for Messi if the Argentinian team were to come to Kazan.

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