Argentine football icon Lionel Messi arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday evening for the second leg of his GOAT India Tour 2025, seeking to reset a much-anticipated visit after scenes of chaos marred his earlier appearance in Kolkata.
The programme in the City of Nizams is scheduled to begin with an exhibition match at 7.50 pm. This will be followed by the entry of Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi onto the pitch, after which Messi will make his appearance along with his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suarez.
CM Reddy wrote in a post X, “The excitement has started. Shri @RahulGandhi ji landed in Hyderabad. Politics aside, today the theme & mood is sports. And we are all just lovers of the great game of football and the G.O.A.T.”
According to local media reports, Messi landed at Shamshabad Airport on a special flight and proceeded via the green channel to Falaknuma Palace, where tight security arrangements have been put in place.
Only 250 guests have been granted permission for an exclusive Meet & Greet and photo session, with access regulated through QR codes.
Fans gathered despite restricted access, hopeful of catching a glimpse of the football legend. Abhishek, who travelled from Maharashtra, told ANI, "I am from Maharashtra. I came here to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi. It is very great of him to come to India...I have been a supporter of Lionel Messi since childhood. It is a dream-come-true moment for me...Even if I get to see him for two minutes, that would be enough for me"
Another football enthusiast said, "Today I am here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium...I thank the Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for inviting Messi here...I am a Cristiano Ronaldo fan, but I love to be here to watch Messi as he is a legend of the game..."
The Sports Authority of Telangana chairman Shiva Sena Reddy assured supporters that the Hyderabad leg would be conducted smoothly, unlike the Kolkata event earlier in the day.
“Today there will be a small 20-minute friendly game between Messi and CM's XIs. It will be followed by Messi holding a football clinic for young players. I would like to assure that what happened in Kolkata earlier in the day will not happen here in Hyderabad, we have enough police force deployed to manage things and a small request to the fans that they should also be calm,” he said.
In Kolkata, around 50,000 spectators had gathered at Salt Lake Stadium, many of whom had paid between Rs 4,000 and Rs 12,000 for tickets, with some shelling out up to Rs 20,000 on the black market.
The event spiralled out of control as politicians, VVIPs, security personnel and others crowded around Messi, prioritising selfies over crowd management, leaving fans angry and frustrated.
The situation escalated when irate spectators hurled bottles, items that were officially banned inside the sporting venue.
Food packets were also found inside the stadium, raising questions over security checks. Chairs were ripped out and thrown, with fibreglass seats smashed across the pitch and the synthetic track, bringing the event to a chaotic end.