Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s long-anticipated return to India, his first since a dazzling 2011 appearance, is set to deliver star power but not competitive football, creating a spectacle that may struggle to recreate the unfiltered sporting frenzy that once overwhelmed Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.
This time, his competitive artistry will be absent. The scene will stand in contrast to 2011, when more than 85,000 spectators crammed into the stadium—many even finding precarious spaces on terrace ledges—to watch Argentina edge Venezuela 1-0 in a FIFA friendly.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is not expected to feature in any match during the ‘G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025’, a purely promotional and commercially designed engagement that begins in Kolkata on Saturday and concludes in New Delhi on Monday.
Even so, in a city that once revered Maradona, welcomed Pele, admired Dunga, and celebrated Ronaldinho, Messi’s arrival—football or no football—remains an irresistible draw for Kolkata.
Organisers have opened 78,000 seats at Salt Lake Stadium, pricing tickets up to Rs 7,000 for his 45-minute Saturday appearance. The steep rates have triggered debate over whether the city will respond with the same uninhibited passion.
Messi will spend fewer than 72 hours in India but will travel across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi on what resembles a high-profile roadshow, drawing participation from chief ministers, major industrialists, Bollywood figures, and even a scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shubman Gill, India’s Test and ODI captain and a known admirer of Messi, is also set to meet the football icon after the Dharamshala T20I on December 14.
Messi’s previous visit remains unforgettable. On September 3, 2011, he glided past defenders, enchanted the crowd with his trademark left foot, and sent waves of emotion rippling through the stadium.
He did not score that night, but supporters left convinced they had witnessed brilliance.
High on glamour quotient
The centrepiece of this tour is a 45-minute philanthropic fashion event in Mumbai on Sunday, featuring Messi, his long-time strike partner Luis Suarez, and Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.
"There will be celebrity models, cricketers, Bollywood celebrities, millionaires, founders. Tiger and Jackie Shroff, John Abraham among others," said Satadru Dutta, sole promoter of the tour.
Suarez is also scheduled to appear in a Spanish music show. Organisers have asked Messi to bring "some memorabilia" from his 2022 World Cup triumph, which will be auctioned during the Mumbai leg.
The Mumbai programme at Wankhede Stadium will be preceded by a Padel Cup at the CCI.
Messi will arrive in Kolkata on Saturday, staying at a five-star hotel on EM Bypass and attending a sponsor-exclusive meet-and-greet in the morning.
The city will also receive a new ‘Messi landmark’ near the Sreebhumi Clock Tower on VIP Road—a 70-foot statue of the World Cup-winning captain holding the Trophy.
Because police denied approval for a public ceremony, the inauguration will be conducted virtually from his hotel room.
A 25ft × 20ft Messi mural, created for next year’s Durga Puja, will also be unveiled and later presented to him at Salt Lake Stadium.
Following the event, Messi will fly to Hyderabad at 2 p.m. The Hyderabad stop was added after his proposed friendly in Kochi was cancelled.
There, he will attend the GOAT Cup—supported by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy—which will feature a 7v7 celebrity match, penalty shootouts, a youth masterclass, and a musical tribute.
Messi will finish his tour in Delhi, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Minerva Academy’s youth stars, winners of the Gothia Cup, Dana Cup and Norway Cup earlier this year, will be honoured in his presence. A nine-a-side celebrity match is also planned.
Messi’s visit extends Kolkata’s long-standing bond with global football icons.
The relationship began in 1977 when Pele’s New York Cosmos played Mohun Bagan to a 2-2 draw at Eden Gardens—a match etched permanently in city folklore.
Pele returned in 2015 after hip surgery, reuniting with Mohun Bagan’s class of ’77 and famously telling fans: "You can never have another Pele." Over the years, Dunga, Bebeto, Mauro Silva, and Colombia’s extravagant showman Rene Higuita also visited.
Higuita delighted spectators with his trademark ‘scorpion kick’ saves in 2012, while Dunga inspired young players with his emphasis on discipline and development.
German football has its own Kolkata chapter as well—Oliver Kahn’s farewell match in 2008 brought more than one lakh supporters to Salt Lake Stadium.
But few evoked as much passion as Diego Maradona, whose 2008 and 2017 visits drew massive crowds eager just to glimpse him.
In 2010, Diego Forlan also arrived to rapturous reception, fresh off his Golden Ball-winning World Cup campaign.
'Handshake visit'; ex-footballers snubbed
Amid the excitement, some former Indian footballers have expressed disappointment at being left out of the events, saying they feel "hurt and insulted."
Former India and Mohun Bagan midfielder Gautam Sarkar, remembered for marking Pele during the iconic 1977 exhibition match, was blunt in his criticism.
"These are nothing but gimmicks. Messi is coming only to do a handshake... Pele had come here and actually played with us," the 75-year-old told PTI.
Ironically, Messi’s arrival comes at a moment of turbulence for Indian football.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has failed thus far to secure a commercial partner for the Indian Super League (ISL), and with the season well into December, the league’s restart remains uncertain.
"Instead of bringing Messi, our focus should be on how to improve football in the country. We must give utmost priority to Indian football and bring back the glory of the past," Sarkar said
Former India defender Subrata Bhattacharya also said he felt "insulted."