Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s India tour began amid extreme mismanagement. On the first day of the “GOAT India Tour,” organizational failures meant fans in Salt Lake and Kolkata could barely see the football legend. The chaos escalated as spectators vandalized stadium chairs and looted property. The police later arrested the main organizer, Shatdru Dutta. Meanwhile, Messi, along with teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, enjoyed a completely different experience in Hyderabad later that day.
Messi Smooth Reception and Fan Interaction in Hyderabad
After the Kolkata chaos, Lionel and his teammates left for Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon. The Argentine captain arrived in the city after 5:30 pm and reached Upal Stadium by 8 pm. Security was heightened both at the airport and the stadium, ensuring smooth crowd management.
At the stadium, an exhibition football match was in progress when Lionel entered. Standing in the VVIP box with Suarez and de Paul, Messi appeared visibly excited. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also joined the match, even scoring a goal within minutes. Following the game, he was welcomed by enthusiastic fans chanting “Messi-Messi” and waving banners while Latin music played across the stadium. He played with children and passed the ball to fans in the gallery.
“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆,” 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒚𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔.
Unlike Kolkata, ample space was maintained around Lionel to allow fans to see and take photos without overcrowding. On a makeshift stage, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi presented souvenirs to Messi and Suarez, who, in turn, awarded the ‘GOAT Cup’ to the winning team.
𝑺𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒛 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒚𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔.
Lionel’s tour will continue with visits to Mumbai and Delhi, concluding on December 15. The contrast between Kolkata’s chaos and Hyderabad’s smooth arrangements highlights the importance of proper management in hosting global football icons.
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