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Old photo of Messi lying down with Aguero circulated as photo from Epstein Files

Recently, a photo of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is being circulated. The photo shows Messi lying in bed with a man. It is being claimed that the photo is from the Epstein Files and Messi is sleeping with his male partner. Additionally, attaching this photo, it is also being claimed that Messi is homosexual.

See some posts circulated on Facebook: here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive).

See some posts circulated on X (formerly Twitter): here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive).

Fact Check

The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that this photo of Lionel Messi has no connection with the Epstein Files; rather, the person beside Messi in the discussed photo is his friend and another Argentine footballer Sergio Aguero, and the said photo has been available on the internet since at least 2014.

Through investigation, a photo circulated on December 20, 2014, on the Russian social media platform VK or VKontakte was found. The discussed photo matches the said photo.

The post on VK or VKontakte stated that the two persons in the photo are Lionel Messi and Aguero.

Additionally, a user posted the photo on the Argentina-based social networking website Taringa on February 09, 2017.

The post stated that this is a photo of Messi and Kun.

‘Kun’ is the nickname of Argentine footballer Sergio Aguero.

On March 18, 2019, on Reddit and on June 15, 2023, from an X (formerly Twitter) account named figurs, the discussed photo was posted claiming it is a photo of Messi and Sergio Aguero.

Subsequently, in the investigation, the photo was found in a report titled ‘10 choses folles que vous ignoriez sur Lionel Messi’ published on July 20, 2018, on the website of African media outlet netafrique. However, although nothing specific was said about the photo there; the photo was referred to as a compromising photo of Messi taken with Aguero.

It is worth noting that Messi and Aguero have been close friends for nearly two decades. Since the youth team level, they have shared the same room together in various tournaments. The photo could be of a moment from that time. However, the specific timeframe or context of the photo could not be confirmed with certainty.

On the other hand, although Lionel Messi’s name is mentioned in two files in the Epstein Files, Sergio Aguero’s name is not present at all.

The two files where Lionel Messi’s name is mentioned are not direct conversations with Messi; rather, Messi’s name came up when talking about Messi during conversations with different individuals.

Furthermore, every photo or document in the Epstein Files has a code. For example, the name of one of the two PDF files containing conversations about Messi is – ‘EFTA00871522.pdf’. The PDF file found upon entering that file also has the same code.

But, the photo of Messi that has spread does not mention any code.

That is, considering everything, it appears that the discussed photo has no relationship with the Epstein Files.

Alongside this, searching with relevant keywords, no information was found in any international media regarding finding such a photo of Messi in the Epstein Files.

Therefore, an old photo of Messi with his friend and another Argentine footballer Sergio Aguero is being circulated with the claim that it is a photo present in the Epstein Files; which is completely false.

Sources

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