Images of Lionel Messi with Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido were digitally manipulated

A social media post alleges to show images of football great Lionel Messi with Afrobeats star Davido in Nigeria in December 2023. But AFP Fact Check found that the images predated the claim and have been digitally manipulated. Messi spent Christmas in his Argentinian home town of Rosario.

“Messi came to Nigeria to celebrate Xmas with Davido,” reads a post published in Nigeria on Facebook on January 1, 2024.

The post has since drawn more than 51,000 interactions and over 1,600 comments.

It contains a screenshot of an X post purportedly from Davido’s account.

The first image shows Messi next to David Adedeji Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, a Nigerian singer widely regarded as one of the most important Afrobeats artists (archived here).

The pair is standing on what looks like a skyscraper rooftop. Another photo shows them next to a plane.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner Messi is the captain of the Argentina national team and Inter Miami of Major League Soccer in the US (archived here).

But the photo montage doesn’t show him with Davido in Nigeria in December 2023.

Old manipulated photos

A reverse image search found that the photos were digitally manipulated by putting together pictures captured separately. The investigation showed that the two celebrities were pictured alone in different locations.

The original rooftop picture shows Messi standing alone in a promotional shot for Dolce & Gabbana, posted on the Italian fashion label’s official X account (formerly Twitter) on December 18, 2021. The image was taken while the athlete was visiting the Expo 2020 in Dubai (archived here).

Screenshot showing the original photo from the Dolce & Gabbana X account

Meanwhile, Davido’s picture was lifted from a photo posted on his Instagram account on May 19, 2023 (archived here). In the original picture, the Afrobeat star is also alone. The image was flipped before being added into the misleading post.

Screenshot showing the original photo of Davido standing alone

The plane picture was also originally posted on Davido’s Instagram on September 13, 2023 (archived here) and shows him alone.

Screenshot showing the original image, taken from Davido’s Instagram account

The photo of Messi with a blue suitcase — which was digitally added into the plane picture — was first published by the Argentinian national football team on its official X account on September 5, 2023 (archived here).

Davido’s X timeline does not feature the post with the altered images shared on social media. There is also no trace of the supposed X post on the online archiving website Wayback Machine. AFP Fact Check has reached out to Davido for comment.

According to local Argentine news reports, Messi celebrated the 2023 Christmas in his home town of Rosario (archived here) while Davido performed in a live concert on December 26, 2023 in Nigeria (archived here).