Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi had visited Kolkata and Hyderabad on Day 1 of his GOAT India Tour on Saturday, 13 December. AP
Lionel Messi, accompanied by Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, had visited Kolkata and Hyderabad on Saturday, the opening day of their tour, with chaotic scenes being witnessed at the Salt Lake Stadium in the ‘City of Joy’. Here’s what’s in store for the Barcelona icon in Mumbai on Sunday.
Lionel Messi’s ‘GOAT India Tour’ enters its second day, with the Argentine football legend set to visit Mumbai on Sunday along with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul. Messi’s three-day, multi-city tour was off to a chaotic start in Kolkata, where he had landed in the wee hours on Saturday.
The Barcelona icon had met Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and virtually unveiled his 70-foot statue. However, his appearance at the city’s iconic Salt Lake Stadium went haywire with irate fans resorting to vandalism after barely catching a glimpse of their hero – who was mobbed by VIPs on the ground and had to be escorted out of the venue after just 20 minutes. Things would then go from bad to worse with chief organiser Satadaru Dutta getting detained by Kolkata Police later in the day.
Messi, who had also hosted a private meet and greet at a city hotel before the chaos at the Salt Lake Stadium, travelling to Hyderabad later in day along with ex-Barcelona teammate Suarez and Argentina teammate de Paul later in the day.
And his visit to Hyderabad couldn’t be more different from the Kolkata leg of the tour, with an exhibition penalty shootout at the city’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium featuring the current Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy going off without a hitch.
What’s in store in Mumbai on Sunday
After visiting two cities in the span of 24 hours on Saturday, Messi will be the whole of Sunday in Mumbai, where the eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient will be participating in a celebrity football match and later walking the ramp in a charity fashion show, meeting leading Indian sports icons such as Sachin Tendulkar as well as the who’s who of the Hindi film industry.
The Mumbai leg kickstarts with the Padel GOAT Cup event at the Cricket Club of India, located at the Brabourne Stadium, at 4.30 pm. Tendulkar and SRK, who had caught up with Messi along with his son AbRam in Kolkata, will be among those in attendance at this event.
Messi and his entourage will then head down the road to the iconic Wankhede Stadium at 5 pm, where he will be participating in a seven-a-side celebrity football match featuring a host of Bollywood celebrities and leading Indian sports icons.
Mumbai Police, meanwhile, have been preparing for Messi’s highly-anticipated visit hoping to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing scenes in Kolkata. As per reports, the city police have put in strict safety measures at each of the venues that will be hosting events on Day 2 of the ‘GOAT India Tour’. Spectators thus will not be allowed to carry water bottles, metal objects, coins or any other potentially hazardous items at the venues.
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Temporary watchtowers will also be constructed at strategic locations in order to keep an eye on crowd movement, and crowd flow patterns will be mapped in order to avoid a stampede-like situation. Emergency response teams, including medical staff and ambulances, will also be put in place at each venue.
And his visit to Hyderabad couldn’t be more different from the Kolkata leg of the tour, with an exhibition penalty shootout at the city’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium featuring the current Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy going off without a hitch.
What’s in store in Mumbai on Sunday
After visiting two cities in the span of 24 hours on Saturday, Messi will be the whole of Sunday in Mumbai, where the eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient will be participating in a celebrity football match and later walking the ramp in a charity fashion show, meeting leading Indian sports icons such as Sachin Tendulkar as well as the who’s who of the Hindi film industry.
Source:First Post