Lionel Messi meets Shah Rukh Khan: Here’s what the rest of his GOAT India tour includes
Lionel Messi met actor Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata on Saturday, with the Bollywood star also bringing his son AbRam for the interaction.
Footballing royalty met Bollywood royalty when Lionel Messi met actor Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata on Saturday, with the Bollywood star also bringing his son AbRam for the interaction, as the Argentine footballer continued his GOAT India Tour. The meeting took place during Lionel’s Kolkata stop, which opened his four-city India visit featuring fan events, stadium appearances and exhibition football engagements.
The tour opened in Kolkata early Saturday morning, with Lionel landing at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 2.26 am to a large fan turnout. His schedule in the city included a closed-door meet-and-greet at a city hotel before a visit to Salt Lake Stadium — a venue closely tied to his only previous appearance in India, when Argentina played a friendly there in 2011. Later in the day, Lionel is expected to virtually unveil a 70-foot statue installed at Lake Town, followed by a felicitation ceremony, also expected to be attended by teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul. The event will also see the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former India cricket and former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly.
.From Kolkata, Lionel travels to to Hyderabad, where the focus of the tour shifts towards football-related activities. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, he is scheduled to participate in a 7v7 exhibition match featuring local players and international teammates. The Hyderabad leg also includes a football clinic aimed at young players, underscoring the developmental aspect of the visit.
Mumbai is the next stop on Sunday, as the tour moves into the country’s entertainment capital. Lionel is slated to visit the Cricket Club of India for a padel session before heading to Wankhede Stadium for a large-scale fan event. The evening programme includes a charity fashion show and the auction of memorabilia from Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign. Several prominent figures from sport and entertainment are expected to attend, such as Sachin Tendulkar, John Abraham and Kareena Kapoor, with speculation around possible interactions with current Indian cricket stars including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, also fuelling interest.
The tour concludes on Monday, December 15, in New Delhi with a final event at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Alongside a felicitation ceremony for young footballers from the Minerva Academy, the Delhi leg features Lionel Messi’s scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where discussions are expected to focus on sports development and international collaboration.
