Lionel Messi concluded his India tour with a memorable final stop in New Delhi, leaving the country late at night after an emotional farewell at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Argentine World Cup winner was warmly received by fans and officials, marking a fitting end to his three-day visit.
A Grand Farewell at Arun Jaitley Stadium
Earlier in the afternoon, Messi walked around the stadium, smiling and waving to thousands of cheering supporters. The stands were filled with fans wearing blue No. 10 jerseys, chanting his name in unison. Messi then watched a celebrity exhibition match and later joined the celebrations by kicking balls into the gallery alongside teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul.
The trio also spent time greeting players from Minerva Academy, sharing light football moments with young children on the field, and creating scenes that delighted the crowd.
Special Gifts and T20 World Cup Invitation
The highlight of the event came when ICC chairman Jay Shah presented Messi with a bat and jersey signed by the Indian team that recently won the T20 World Cup. Messi received a No. 10 jersey, while Suárez and De Paul were gifted jerseys numbered 9 and 7, respectively.
Messi was also handed the opening-match ticket for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7 with a clash between India and the United States. The football icon has been officially invited to attend the match.
Speaking to fans before departing India, Messi said,
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔.”
He added with a smile,
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏—𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆—𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.”
With heartfelt words and roaring applause, Messi’s India tour came to a close, leaving fans hoping for another visit from the global football legend.
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