Football icon ends India tour and visits Delhi

Football superstar Lionel Messi ends his three-day tour of India in polluted Delhi after a chaotic start in Kolkata.

Thousands of fans gathered at the Derry Stadium on Monday to catch a glimpse of the Argentina and Inter Miami striker.

The crowd chanted his name as Messi strolled onto the pitch accompanied by Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, kicked the ball into the stands, passed a group of children and signed autographs.

His flight from Mumbai was delayed due to fog and his itinerary had to be adjusted, local media reported. Saturday Angry fans vandalized the Kolkata Stadium because they did not see him when he came on.

Messi has a busy schedule in India, taking part in a series of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai since arriving in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Later in the day, before heading to Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, he virtually unveiled a 70ft (21m) statue of himself, which was assembled in 27 days by 45 workers in the eastern city.

However, the tour got off to a disastrous start following angry fans. Seats torn and throwing objects onto the pitch inside the stadium.

Football is hugely popular in the state of West Bengal, whose capital is Kolkata, with thousands of enthusiastic supporters paying up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to attend the event.

However, most of them didn’t even get to see him, as he was surrounded by officials and celebrities during a brief stroll around the stadium before quickly leaving as the situation turned hostile.

The Telegraph of Kolkata said in a report editorial “Mismanagement and lack of coordination for a much-hyped event” and security breaches turned the stadium into a “battlefield” with fans refusing to even see Messi “venting their anger through violence.”

The turmoil made international headlines and cast a shadow over Messi’s first visit to India since 2011 on his so-called “GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Tour”.

The organizer of the Kolkata event has been arrested and a city court has remanded Satadru Dutta to police custody for 14 days, police said.

Messi’s visits to Hyderabad and Mumbai went off without a hitch, with fans sharing their delight online and in media interviews to see the global icon.

Messi also met several politicians and celebrities – Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata (at his hotel before the stadium debacle), opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai.

In between these interactions, Messi can be seen waving to a large gathering of fans inside the stadium and dribbling the ball with a group of children.

Earlier reports suggested Messi would meet Narendra Modi in Delhi, but the Indian prime minister left the country on Monday morning for a planned visit to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman.

Messi’s popularity stems not only from his long international career and extensive television coverage of European football – he is the goalscoring record for his former club Barcelona – but also from the emotional connection millions of Indians have with what is often called the beautiful game.

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