Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met football icon Lionel Messi in Hyderabad on Saturday after the footballer’s arrival for the second leg of his GOAT India Tour 2025.
They met at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, where Messi presented a signed jersey to the Congress MP and briefly interacted with him.
VIDEO | Telangana: Hyderabad: Argentine football icon Lionel Messi interacts with Rahul Gandhi at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
(Source: Third Party)#MessiInIndia #Hyderabad #Telangana pic.twitter.com/2w20Y2aiai
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 13, 2025
Sharing a special moment from his meeting with the football legend, Gandhi posted a video on Instagram, captioned, “Viva Football With the GOAT Lionel
Messi.” The video capturing the Congress MP’s interaction with the Argentine superstar, quickly drew attention online, highlighting the widespread excitement around the football icon’s visit to India.
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Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also in attendance and was seen spending some time on the field with Messi before Gandhi’s arrival, casually kicking the ball and interacting with the football legend.
In contrast, the opening leg of Messi’s tour in Kolkata was overshadowed by disorder, leaving fans disappointed and angry. Nearly 50,000 spectators, many of whom had spent between Rs 4,000 and Rs 12,000 on tickets—while some paid as much as Rs 20,000 on the black market—were unable to get a clear view of Messi at the Salt Lake Stadium. The footballer was heavily surrounded by politicians, VVIPs and security personnel, with several attendees focusing on taking selfies rather than managing the crowd.
Frustration soon boiled over, triggering scenes of chaos as spectators hurled bottles and other prohibited items onto the field. Food packets were also thrown, while chairs were torn from the stands and flung onto the pitch, leaving fibreglass seats shattered across the ground and the synthetic track damaged.
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