PAYDAY: Messi is alleged to have received £2.4m pounds for hanging out with the corrupt dictator [REUTERS]
Newly tattooed Messi wearing Bermuda Shorts and a T-shirt was on an official visit to lay the foundation stones for a new stadium.
But the Barcelona and Argentina caused outrage when he helped open a new Bongo family restaurant showing support for their regime.
"People are outraged about this," said an opposition source in the country.
PROMISE: President Ali Bongo defended Messi claiming he was simply honouring a promise by travelling to Gabon [REUTERS] The country is notoriously known for corruption and linked to human rights abuses.
According to French media Messi and his former Barcelona team-mate Deco were paid £2.4 million for the trip.
One photograph shows the player placing his hands in cement at the stadium in Port-Gentil.
"The little African trip should bring in around 3.5 million euros. Not bad!" read a report in France Football.
But Bongo fiercely defended Messi's appearance and said "When I was in Barcelona a few years ago, I met Messi who had told me that he would come to visit me in Libreville.
"It's a promise he made me. He is a man of honour who just kept his word."
French cops routinely investigate corrupt allegations against the Bongo family – who are alleged to own 39 homes across the country including Paris.
The CIA/World Factbook reads that Gabon's per capita income is four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations.
DUTIES: The star places his hands in cement at the site of Gabon's new stadium in Port-Gentil [REUTERS] The World Bank said almost one-third of Gabonese live at or below the poverty line.
Messi himself is not clean cut - he is facing trial for tax fraud in Spain.
Barcelona High Court believes he has made money from a complex network of companies which hid £3m pounds from Spanish tax authorities between 2007 and 2009.
Comments