A leaked police dossier revealed that Argentina captain Lionel Messi faced multiple bomb threats during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Spanish newspaper Informacion.es reviewed the documents and reported that Messi attracted the highest number of terror related alerts among players.
The joint FBI and International Police Cooperation Center handled the threats across the tournament hosted by the United States Canada and Mexico.
One serious incident occurred before Argentina faced Jordan in Dallas. A caller contacted Dallas airport and claimed he and two other people planned to enter the stadium. The caller said they carried homemade bombs and an AR-15. He threatened to attack police officers and players from both teams. The dossier noted a special mention of Lionel Messi as a target.
Another threat emerged ahead of Argentina’s match against Egypt in Atlanta on July 7. An X user posted a message that read “I’m about to enter the Atlanta stadium and blow up Messi with four bombs strapped to my body.” During the same match police received a separate call that claimed three bombs sat inside trash bins in the stands.
Explosive detection dogs and specialists searched the stadium. The alert proved to be a false alarm. Security teams cleared the venue without incident.
The dossier identified Lionel Messi as the player who drew the greatest number of violent threats throughout the competition. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo also faced repeated harassment and unauthorized approaches according to the same documents. Other players including Kylian Mbappe received monitoring as well.
The FBI and International Police Cooperation Center coordinated the responses and prevented any disruption to the matches. Spain eventually won the tournament.
