Lionel Messi sets foot in India; Kolkata in frenzy ahead of GOAT tour

KOLKATA: Football wizard Lionel Messi arrived at Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport at 2 am today. Messi walked out of the airport under tight security, amid tremulous chanting from thousands who had been waiting since yesterday evening.

Messi is in India for a three-day visit. The World Cup-winning Argentinian captain is accompanied by Argentina's Rodrigo de Paul and Uruguay's Luis Suarez. Messi is in India for the 'GOAT India Tour 2025' event organised by the 'A Satadru Dutta Initiative'.

The events in India will begin this morning with a face-to-face event with fans. Lionel Messi will unveil a 70-foot-tall statue of Messi built by the Kolkata Sreebhumi Sporting Club. Messi will perform the unveiling ceremony virtually from his hotel room.

Messi will leave for Hyderabad in the afternoon and play an exhibition match there. After the events in Mumbai the next day, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on the 15th. Messi and his team are staying at the Taj Bengal Hotel near the Victoria Memorial.