Lionel Messi, widely regarded as football’s magician, toured India but did not step onto the pitch for even a single match. Despite visiting four cities in three days and attending several exhibition events, Messi avoided playing football. In contrast, during his previous India tour in 2011, he participated in a friendly match against Venezuela in Kolkata wearing Argentina’s jersey. This time, financial considerations were the main reason he refrained from playing.
The $900 Million Left Leg Insurance
Messi’s left foot, often called magical, is insured for an astounding $900 million—approximately 10,000 crore taka. This insurance ensures that if Messi injures his left leg while playing, he will receive state-of-the-art medical treatment. However, there is a catch: any injury during a match outside his club or national duties, including exhibitions, is not covered.
“𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂,” 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔.”
Career and Financial Security Above All
The best footballers in the world often insure crucial body parts at high values to protect their careers and financial security. For Messi, playing in India under the conditions of his insurance would have been too risky. As a result, he decided to avoid all football action except for Inter Miami and Argentina matches leading up to the next World Cup.
“𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”
Also Read: Messi Effect: How India Built a $1 Billion Football Business
