Hackers breached Brazilian club Corinthians' official website and briefly posted a fake statement announcing the signing of Inter Miami player Lionel Messi from 2027. The club later removed the post and confirmed that its platforms had suffered a cyberattack.
What the fake post said
The fabricated statement said Messi would join Corinthians from 2027. It also included remarks attributed to Messi and invented financial figures about how Corinthians could afford the transfer.
Club response to the breach
Those running the site deleted the post after spotting the breach and replaced it with a notice saying the platform was undergoing maintenance. In an official statement, Corinthians confirmed a cyberattack on its platforms and said the information technology team had contained the breach quickly.
Corinthians said no financial losses were recorded and none of the organisation's data or private information was leaked. As a precaution, the club decided to tighten the security protocols on its digital platforms.
Technical checks on club websites
In its official statement, Corinthians said it temporarily took its official website and the Neo Quimica Arena website offline for technical checks before restarting both later.
When the breach happened
The breach happened hours after Corinthians' 2-0 win over Mirassol in a Brazilian league match. The result was not enough to move Corinthians out of the relegation zone, and they remained among the bottom four in the table.
GOAL said Palmeiras' official website suffered a similar cyberattack only days earlier.
