Messi fans throng Kolkata airport as footballer lands for GOAT India Tour 2025 | Watch
During the three-day tour starting Friday, Messi will travel to four cities, and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of his visit.
Footballer Lionel Messi landed in Kolkata early on Saturday morning even as fans thronged the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport to catch a glimpse of the Argentine player, PTI news agency reported.
Messi is in the country for his GOAT India Tour 2025 three-day, which will be held across four cities, starting with Kolkata. Upon deboarding his flight, Messi was seen surrounded by security personnel and airport ground staff members, who were seen capturing his arrival.
Ahead of the Argentine footballer's arrival, a crowd of dedicated fans was seen waiting and chanting his name outside the Kolkata airport, a video by PTI showed. Some of them were seen wearing Argentina's World Cup jersey. Fans also thronged the area around the hotel in Kolkata where the footballer will be staying.
Meanwhile, security has been ramped up in areas around the airport and the hotel, with barricades and police presence to ensure a smooth welcome to the player, PTI reported.
This is Messi's second visit to India. The footballer last travelled to Kolkata in 2011 for a friendly game against Venezuela. The legendary footballer's tour starts on Friday in Kolkata, following which he will travel to Hyderabad the same day. On the second day of his tour, Messi will be in Mumbai, and conclude his visit in New Delhi on Monday.
The footballer is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence before departing.
In Kolkata, Messi will attend a sponsor-exclusive meet-and-greet, featuring an Argentine–Indian fusion food festival, between 9:30 am and 10:30 am on Friday. He will virtually unveil his “biggest ever statue”, a 70-foot structure, from his team hotel. While the player was initially expected to unveil the statue in person at Sreebhumi, police did not grant permission for an on-site event.
For the stadium event, a crowd of more than 70,000 people is expected, with 75,000 seats being made available after the organisers opened counter sales from Tuesday this week after strong demand.
