Lionel Messi will arrive in Kolkata on 13 December, marking the start of his four-city India tour that will also cover Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Securing Messi’s visit was a significant challenge, as the Argentine star is known to be reserved and rarely participates in commercial or public events.
The driving force behind this landmark tour is sports entrepreneur Satadru Dutta, who spent nearly two years negotiating to bring Messi to India. Dutta has a track record of hosting global football legends in Kolkata, having earlier facilitated visits by Diego Maradona and Pelé.
According to Dutta, the idea took shape after Argentina won the FIFA World Cup. Before approaching Messi directly, he invited Argentina’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano
Martínez to India to build credibility and create a favourable impression within Messi’s circle. “Emiliano helped in shaping the perception. After that, I approached Messi’s father to secure an appointment. I showed him the 70-foot statue we had created in Messi’s honour. I had to wait, but eventually I got time with him. He began the conversation by saying Messi would come, and that was a big moment for me,” Dutta told News18.
On 13 December, Messi will inaugurate his 70-foot statue remotely before arriving at Salt Lake Stadium. The Kolkata event will include a musical ceremony, a celebrity match between Mohun Bagan and Diamond Harbour FC, and a football clinic where Messi will demonstrate his signature Tiki-Taka skills to children. Similar engagements, including another football clinic, are planned in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
Dutta said ticket sales for the Kolkata programme have already broken previous records, calling it “historic.” The event in West Bengal is expected to be attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sourav Ganguly and Shah Rukh Khan, who will fly in from Mumbai to meet Messi.
With high-profile guests, unprecedented ticket demand and a tightly curated set of programmes, the GOAT Tour is set to become one of India’s most significant sporting and cultural events.
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