How Much Did Lionel Messi Earn From GOAT India Tour 2025? Kolkata Event Organiser Reveals

New Delhi: Lionel Messi, Argentina's FIFA World Cup-winning icon who recently concluded his 'GOAT' India tour a few days ago during which he visited leading metropolitans, attended events, giving a chance

to crores of followers to catch his glimpse and get inspired.Messi visited four cities including Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. During his India tour, he was accompanied by teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, as he engaged in fan events. Before concluding his stay, the global football icon also visited Gujarat’s Jamnagar.

How Much Lionel Messi Earn From India Visit

The World Cup-winning football icon Lionel Messi, according to now arrested Satadru Dutta, who organised the Kolkata event on December 13 that ended on a horrible note, told investigators that Messi was paid a whopping Rs 89 crore, PTI reported.Out of this some, Rs 11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government, he said.ALSO READ | Messi's Kolkata Event Went Out Of Control After 'One Influential Man's Arrival'—Who Is Under Scanner In SIT Probe?"Lionel Messi was paid Rs 89 crore for the tour, while Rs 11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government," Dutta told investigators, placing the total expenditure at Rs 100 crore. Of this amount, 30 per cent was sourced from sponsors, while another 30 per cent was generated through ticket sales, sources said.

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Why Satardu Dutta Has Been Arrested?

Satadru Dutta, the main organiser of Lionel Messi event in Kolkata on December 13, has been arrested and being investigated after the Bengal event ended in chaos when the football icon was surrounded by a whole lot of people.Messi's fans who had purchased costly tickets to catch a glimpse of the football star complained that they were not able to see him as high profile VVIPs had surrounded him and finally ended up unruly at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium.The turn of events led Messi to leave the venue before the scheduled time.ALSO READ |Sourav Ganguly Files Rs 50 Crore Lawsuit Over Lionel Messi's Kolkata Event Chaos - Here's Who He Is Angry With

'Messi Was Unhappy Being Touched or Hugged'

The event organiser Dutta has told investigators that the football icon was "unhappy with being touched or hugged" during his appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium and left before staying there full-time as scheduled, a source in the SIT said.During prolonged questioning by officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Dutta said Messi "did not like being touched on the back or being hugged" and that the concern had been conveyed in advance by the foreign security officials responsible for the footballer's protection, he said.

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"Despite repeated public announcements to restrain the crowd, there was no impact. The manner in which Messi was surrounded and embraced was completely unacceptable to the World Cup-winning footballer," Dutta told investigators during his grilling on Friday, the source said.

Why West Bengal Sports Minister Is Under Scanner Over Messi’s Kolkata Event

West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas was seen in close proximity to Messi throughout the programme, with visuals showing him holding the footballer around the waist while posing for photographs.Biswas has been accused of using his influence to allow relatives and personal acquaintances access to Messi. Amid mounting criticism, he resigned from his post as sports minister pending completion of the investigation.Investigators are also probing how such a large number of people gained access to the ground area.

Dutta also claimed that initially only 150 ground passes were issued, which, however, was tripled when a "very influential person" reached the stadium and "overpowered him". Police are examining whether the expanded access directly contributed to the breakdown of crowd control."The arrested accused also claimed that once that particular influential person reached the stadium, all the flow-chart for the Messi programme got disturbed and he could not control it," the official told PTI.The West Bengal government had set up the Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar to investigate the vandalism at Argentine football star Lionel Messi’s event at the Salt Lake stadium. The SIT is also investigating security lapses, access violations, and the role of organisers and officials in the incident, the officer added.With inputs from PTI