Sport Club Corinthians Paulista said it identified a cyberattack on its official website after the club’s digital platforms were altered in the early hours of Saturday and briefly displayed a fake note claiming Lionel Messi had joined the team. By the end of the morning, the site was back to normal, but the episode underlined how exposed a club’s public presence can be when its official channels are compromised.
The attack took place in the madrugada deste sábado, when the club’s website was invaded and began showing a false announcement about the supposed signing of Lionel Messi. The same incident also led to the temporary removal from the air of the official websites of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista and the Neo Química Arena, as the club acted to contain the damage and restore normal service.
What the fake message tried to do
The false text used Lionel Messi’s name and even included a statement attributed to the player, saying he was “feliz pela chegada ao clube brasileiro.” It was an obvious fake, but one that was visible through the club’s official digital space long enough to create confusion before the site was taken down and later restored.
That detail matters because this was not just a prank aimed at a social account or an unofficial page. It was a direct intrusion into the club’s main online platform, which is why the response included a preventive shutdown of both the Corinthians and Neo sites while the situation was being handled.
A wider warning for club websites
The timing also stands out because the text noted that Palmeiras had its own website invaded earlier in the week, with the message “Não tem mundial” appearing there. Taken together, the incidents point to a broader problem for major clubs: their official channels are now part of the matchday and commercial experience, and any breach can quickly become a public embarrassment.
For Corinthians, the immediate issue is now containment and reassurance. The club said it had identified the cyberattack, and the key question for supporters is whether the intrusion stopped at the altered homepage or went any further. Based on the information provided, the site was restored by the end of the morning, but no further details were given about financial loss or data theft.
