Gabon will be hosting the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and President Ali Bongo invited the Barcelona superstar to the event.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi spent a part of his vacation on a visit to Gabon on Saturday where he helped to lay the foundation for a new 20,000-seat stadium in Port-Gentil.

The Argentinian forward was accompanied by Gabon President Ali Bongo.

“People are outraged about this”, an opposition source in the country said.

“Good move or a communications coup for Ali Bongo?”, one person wondered on Twitter, under a photograph of the Gabonese president at the wheel of a convertible Mercedes Jeep driving through the crowds in Libreville, with Messi beside him in the passenger seat.

One photograph shows the player placing his hands in cement at the stadium in Port-Gentil.

The influential football weekly “France Football” added fuel to the fire on Monday when it claimed the Barcelona maestro had received the 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) for his appearance.

“It was a promise which he made to me”.

But French media reported that Messi was paid the equivalent of £2.4m for the trip, which he took with his former Barcelona team-mate Deco.

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 states that Gabon’s per capita income is four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations, but a large portion of the population remains poor due to huge income inequality.