Lionel Messi and team visiting India in December, will visit three cities

NEW DELHI: The Argentina national football team with star player Lionel Messi are coming to India. He is coming to India to be a part of the celebrity football matches. He will visit three cities in the country as part of the GOAT Cup to be held from December 13 to 15. The matches will be held in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. However, reports say that there will be no football match on the trip. Instead, he will witness the GOAT Cup.

There are also reports that Messi will be felicitated at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The event will be attended by many including Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Messi is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he reaches Delhi.

However, the Argentine football team has not yet responded on Messi's visit to India. According to reports, Kerala is not on Messi's travel itinerary.

Meantime, Kerala has been trying to prepare a venue for Argentina's friendly match for more than a year. Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had recently confirmed that Lionel Messi and the Argentine team will come to Kerala to play.

The cost is expected to be more than Rs 130 crores. Once the financial matters are cleared, the Argentine Football Association is expected to announce the venue and date of the match. Before that, representatives of the Argentine Football Association will visit Kerala to inspect the venue. The plan is to hold the match at the Green Field Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. There are also efforts to organize a public event with the participation of fans in Kochi or Malabar.