All posts tagged: lionel messi tour

From Ballia to Aurangabad, fans fill Wankhede Stadium for another No. 10 – Lionel Messi | Football News

From Ballia to Aurangabad, fans fill Wankhede Stadium for another No. 10 – Lionel Messi | Football News

Published by Webster

For three hours on Sunday, the iconic cricket stadium here turned into a football coliseum. As is always the case on match days, Wankhede Stadium was blue, but today the shade was lighter, the one associated with Argentine footballers. Thousands in the stands wore No.10 — Sachin Tendulkar’s number in these parts. But tonight it was for another No.10 — the global sporting superstar Lionel Messi. The first leg of Messi’s GOAT India Tour had descended into chaos in Kolkata on Saturday, with fans feeling cheated as most of them didn’t get to see the one-of-a-kind footballer. On Sunday, Mumbai got its Messi fill. The World Cup winner stepped onto the red carpet laid out for him at 5:51 pm, and his grand entry got the roof down. Beside him were his club teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez. But all eyes were on Messi as cameras kept flashing where the star ventured. Shy as ever, the 5’7” icon smiled and waved. He would also enthusiastically participate in a kick-around with a group of …

Hyderabad leg of Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour of India goes uneventfully after Kolkata chaos | Football News

Hyderabad leg of Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour of India goes uneventfully after Kolkata chaos | Football News

Published by Webster

Fans in India finally got to have a good look at Lionel Messi in the second leg of his GOAT Tour of India as the Argentina football great’s event at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad went without incident, in stark contrast to what was the case earlier on Saturday in Kolkata. Messi, along with his teammates and friends, Uruguay superstar Luis Suarez and Argentina’s Rodrigo de Paul, spent over an hour in the middle, playing kickabouts with children and walking around the stadium. They also kicked footballs into the crowd for people to carry home as souvenirs. The scenes that were broadcast and streamed across the country on Saturday evening was in stark contrast to what happened in the morning in Kolkata, where the first leg of the Argentina captain’s tour of India descended into chaos. Messi arrived in Hyderabad around 5:40pm and was received at the Taj Falaknuma Palace by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Sporting a green colour crew neck half sleeve T-shirt, a black pant and a pair of sport shoes, the …

‘Disappointing that genuine fans didn’t get to see Messi’: Bhaichung Bhutia on chaotic start to GOAT Tour in Kolkata | Football News

‘Disappointing that genuine fans didn’t get to see Messi’: Bhaichung Bhutia on chaotic start to GOAT Tour in Kolkata | Football News

Published by Webster

What was meant to be a celebration of Lionel Messi and Kolkata’s love for football descended into chaos as angry fans vandalised the iconic Salt Lake Stadium after the Argentine football great was whisked away by his security team after making a brief appearance at the ground. Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia has now said that it is disappointing that the genuine fans of Messi, who paid for the tickets, never got to actually see him. “It is a bit disappointing because I heard that around 80,000 fans turned up. Everybody loves Messi, but genuine fans did not really get to see him, which is very unfortunate,” Bhutia is quoted as saying by PTI. He hoped that organisers learn a lesson and ensure such a situation does not occur again, he said, adding, “It also spoils the country’s name.” Bhutia said that the intentions behind the visit was good but the organisers should have done a better job at keeping “unwanted VIPs” at bay. “I think it was a very good visit, but unfortunately things …

Rs 10 lakh for a handshake and a photo-op with Lionel Messi: Kolkata set to kickstart ‘GOAT India Tour 2025’ | Football News

Rs 10 lakh for a handshake and a photo-op with Lionel Messi: Kolkata set to kickstart ‘GOAT India Tour 2025’ | Football News

Published by Webster

As you race towards the Salt Lake Stadium, past the clock tower in Lake Town, your eyes can’t help but catch a gargantuan statue of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, almost engulfing Kolkata’s hazy skyline. The 70ft tall structure, which has been christened “Monumento de Messi”, depicts the World Cup winner posing with the trophy he won in Qatar in 2022. The visage, however, was covered on Friday with the face set to be officially unveiled after it’s remotely inaugurated by Messi on Saturday as he begins his four-city GOAT Tour from Kolkata, the city he returns to 14 years after playing a FIFA friendly match vs Venezuela in 2011. But with one day to go for the official event surrounding the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner to begin, the mood around Kolkata is yet to replicate the emotions that had showered the magician back in 2011. While there were still a lot of fans present in and around the Salt Lake Stadium, collecting their tickets as well as Messi scarves and jerseys, the excitement had yet …