Lionel Messi has confirmed that Hyderabad has been added to his India tour next month.
Messi took to Facebook to share the news, expressing gratitude and excitement for his upcoming tour. "Thanks for all the love from India! The GOAT tour kicks off in a few weeks' time!!! I'm happy to share that Hyderabad has been added to my visits to Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. See you soon India!" he said.
After the celebration in Kolkata on December 13, Messi will travel to Hyderabad for the next leg of the event on the same day.
In Kolkata, Messi's event will be held at Salt Lake Stadium which was also confirmed on Thursday.
The stadium will host the legend for the second time this time in the "GOAT Concert' and "GOAT Cup' on December 13, where Messi is expected to share the field with Indian icons Sourav Ganguly, Bhaichung Bhutia and Leander Paes.
Earlier, Ahmedabad was touted as one of the cities on Messi's India tour. Kerala was another pit stop given the Argentine team were scheduled to play a friendly in Kochi.
Both those events were cancelled, with Hyderabad offering an alternate pitstop.
The event will feature a short football match, a clinic, a musical tribute, and a felicitation ceremony, similar to other states.
Tickets for the Hyderabad leg are live now.
With Hyderabad on board, the GOAT India Tour achieves a true pan-India presence, spanning the East (Kolkata) and South (Hyderabad) on December 13, West (Mumbai) on December 14 and in the end, North (Delhi) on December 15.
In Mumbai, Messi will also attend the “Padel GOAT Cup” and participate in a celebrity line-up that could include Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, and Bollywood stars.
This will be Messi's first visit to India since 2011, when he captained Argentina in a FIFA friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium.