Just two days before the Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, a work of street art featuring Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal has provoked numerous reactions in the streets of Barcelona. This Friday, Italian artist TVBoy unveiled a fresco depicting the two Spanish football stars kissing, each wearing their club’s jersey. Entitled “ For the love of gold », this creation refers to the rivalry between the two players, both on the pitch and in the race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, the ceremony of which will be held on Monday. A golden balloon had also been drawn at their feet to illustrate this competition. But the work was not unanimous. Installed in a historic district of the Catalan capital, it was vandalized less than two hours after its creation. The faces of the two attackers were notably defaced, prompting the artist to react with humor on Instagram: “ The shortest kiss in history. »
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Real name Salvatore Benintede, TVBoy is used to provoking reactions with his creations mixing football, current affairs and symbolic messages. Having lived in Barcelona for more than twenty years, the artist had already depicted Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exchanging a kiss in 2017, a work repeated two years later on the cover of France Football. His creations are regularly targeted in the streets of Barcelona. This summer, a fresco depicting Ferran Torres kissing the 2026 World Cup trophy was also vandalized shortly after its appearance. In August 2025, a portrait of Lamine Yamal as a superhero suffered the same fate, after the addition of the seven dwarfs from Snow White in reference to the controversy surrounding her eighteenth birthday. Even earlier, a work dedicated to Alexia Putellas had been covered with misogynistic insults.
