‘With the GOAT’: Fanboy moment for Rahul Gandhi with Lionel Messi in Hyderabad | Watch
Rahul Gandhi joined football legend Lionel Messi and his teammates Luiz Saurez and Rodrigo de Paul in Hyderabad on Saturday.
For Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, it was a fanboy moment as he met Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi in Telangana's Hyderabad during his GOAT India Tour 2025, which began on Saturday with the first stop in West Bengal's Kolkata.
After the Kolkata Messi event ended on a chaotic note, Messi arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday evening where he was welcomed by Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy.
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Rahul Gandhi shared a reel of him with the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Times) Messi and his Inter Miami team-mates Luiz Saurez and Rodrigo de Paul on his social media handles such as Facebook and Instagram and captioned it: “Viva Football With the GOAT @leomessi.” The Congress leader landed in Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon for Messi's programme at the RGI Stadium here as part of his GOAT India Tour. He also shared photos with the trio on his Instagram handle with the caption: ‘The beautiful game’
Watch the video here:
Messi's Hyderabad event a contrast of Kolkata chaos
Messi's programme in Hyderabad was reported to be stark contrast to the chaos that unfolded in Kolkata as the second leg of the GOAT India Tour ended on a positive note.
The celebrated Argentine footballer mesmerised the Hyderabad crowd at a nearly-packed Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium as he showed off some of the skills that made him one of the greatest ever to play the sport, news agency PTI reported.
Messi arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon after chaotic series of events in Kolkata. He was received at the Taj Falaknuma Palace by Telangana CM Reddy. The World Cup-winning Argentine captain was welcomed in the stadium by a deafening cheer of the crowd.
"I am very happy to be in Hyderabad in the midst of all the love and affection shown by you all," Messi said through a translator while addressing the crowd.
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Messi and his Inter Miami team-mates Luiz Saurez and Rodrigo de Paul took part in a GOAT Cup penalty shootout, with Reddy also turning up in football attires, and conducted football clinics with children before leaving the stadium.
