Sports fans in India struggled to hold their excitement when Lionel Messi confirmed his visit to the country as part of his ‘GOAT Tour’ earlier this week.
Now, if reports are to be believed, there’s another surprise planned: with the decision-makers in Kolkata trying to woo Messi’s former teammates, Luis Suárez and Neymar Júnior, during the trip. According to The Telegraph, the attempts have been kept a secret, including from Messi, to ‘give him a surprise’ when he’s at the Salt Lake Stadium.
“Discussions are still on as we’re putting in all our efforts to get Neymar and Suarez so that it turns out to be one kind of a Barca reunion. Even Messi doesn’t know about this, as we plan to give him a surprise. We want Calcutta to have a feel of ‘MSN (Messi,
Suarez and Neymar)’,” the newspaper cited a source as saying.
The trio played together in Barcelona in the La Liga for three years from 2014-2017. Suarez arrived from Liverpool in 2014, and Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
They formed one of the most feared forward lines at that time, playing a combined 450 games in all competitions and racking up an incredible 364 goals and 173 assists – often to each other.
This will be Messi’s second visit to India and the ground. The World Cup-winning Argentinian legend first came here in 2011, leading his country in an international friendly against Venezuela on September 2.
The report said that while Messi is set to visit other cities in India, Neymar’s cameo is likely to be limited to just Kolkata. Brazil defender Dani Alves and Portugal attacking midfielder Deco, both former Barcelona players, are also being courted.
“We’re trying to bring Alves and Deco too. Let’s see how things transpire,” the source added.
After his set of events in Calcutta, Messi will travel to Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium for more programmes on December 14 and 15.
