The most specific threat in the file came before Argentina played Egypt. A user posted a message telling police, and the world, exactly what he claimed he was going to do: enter the Atlanta stadium and detonate four bombs on Messi.

“I am going into the Atlanta Stadium and blowing Messi up with four bombs strapped to my body,” the post read, according to the dossier.

A separate warning during the same match claimed three devices had been placed in stadium bins. Officers swept the venue with explosive-detection dogs and found nothing. It was a hoax, but the search happened while the game was being played.

The Jordan group-stage fixture had already produced its own scare. A man called Dallas airport and told authorities he and two accomplices intended to storm the stadium with homemade bombs and an AR-15 rifle, naming Messi as the target. The caller was tracked and neutralised before he reached the venue.

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Across the tournament, no player received more threats than the Argentina captain, according to Marca’s review of the American police report.

Ronaldo tracked to a hotel and into a lift

Cristiano Ronaldo did not top the list, but the file logs two incidents around him that reached the FBI. In one, a suspicious individual repeatedly pressed a FIFA employee for details about Ronaldo’s accommodation. Houston police arrested the same man inside Portugal’s team hotel two days later.

The second episode happened in Toronto, where a man was arrested trying to step into a lift with Ronaldo. He told officers he only wanted a selfie.

Kylian Mbappé was targeted differently. After France’s group match against Paraguay, xenophobic posts spread online, including images of a doll in his likeness being set on fire.

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6,000 messages to referee Letexier

The dossier does not stop at the players. French referee François Letexier took charge of the controversial Argentina-Egypt fixture in Atlanta and, in the hours that followed, received more than 6,000 threatening WhatsApp messages. French authorities placed additional security around his home and family. VAR official Willy Delajod, who worked the same game, was subjected to a parallel wave of abuse from Egyptian supporters.

Two more names appear in the section on players. Norway striker Alexander Sørloth and his wife received death threats after the quarter-final defeat to England. Colombia winger Jhon Jáminton Campaz missed a penalty and was threatened seriously enough that he did not travel back with the squad.

FBI and IPCC ran the security net

The tournament was co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and ended with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 in the final on 19 July. Throughout the five weeks in between, the file shows, the FBI and the International Police Cooperation Center coordinated to monitor and mitigate terror alerts, stalkers and violent threats aimed at players and their families. None of the plots against Messi reached a stadium. The file was leaked to Marca and published on Saturday.

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