Messi scorned by Gabonese political party for 'zoo' attire, 'lack of respect'

Lionel Messi is a beloved figure around the world, but the Argentine football superstar wasn't feeling much love in Gabon.

Messi drew the ire of Gabon's political opposition party after wearing a T-shirt and shorts to meet the country's president during the first leg of a five-day African tour.

The Union du Peuple Gabonais (UPG) party released this statement in French, translated by ESPN, regarding Messi's visit to the African nation:

The messiah of football arrived in Gabon like he were going to a zoo: dirty, unshaven and his hands in his pockets, looking for peanuts to throw to them! When you're called Lionel Messi and you're a multi-billionaire, you don't have the right to present yourself to officials of a republic, even a banana one, with your hands in the pockets of a ripped, tattered pair of shorts. Gabon isn't a zoo. We don't know what the Argentine came to Gabon for, but we at least have the right to denounce his negligence and his lack of respect for standards and principles. We are uneasy with Messi's attitude and his attire. Only for these reasons, linked to respect for the host country, do we condemn the footballer's indelicateness, to say the least!

The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, drove Messi around the capital city of Libreville in a Jeep. Messi participated in the opening of construction for a new stadium in Port-Gentil, one of the venues hosting the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, laying down the first stone at the new, 40,000-seat facility.

Messi was reportedly paid €3.5 million for the visit, but those claims were later denied.

In any case, Messi, who's often modest in his dress, might want to bust out his finest tuxedo for his next public outing with President Bongo, lest he draw more wrath from Gabonese dignitaries.