Football great Lionel Messi arrived in the city of dreams, Mumbai, on Sunday as part of the third leg of his India tour, with the Argentine icon set to attend multiple high-profile events across the city.
Security has been tightened significantly following the chaos witnessed during Messi’s Kolkata visit at the Salt Lake Stadium, which was marred by poor crowd management and organisational lapses. In contrast, his Hyderabad leg passed off smoothly, aided by extensive security arrangements.
Messi checked in at the Taj Hotel, Mumbai, and is scheduled to begin his engagements around 4:30 PM IST. His first appearance will be at the Padel GOAT Cup event at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), located within the Brabourne Stadium complex. The event is expected to draw several high-profile guests, including cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and actor Shah Rukh Khan. India batter Virat Kohli, who has arrived in Mumbai with his wife Anushka Sharma following the final ODI, is also expected to meet the Argentine great.
Later in the evening, Messi will travel to the Wankhede Stadium for the Main GOAT Tour programme, which features a seven-a-side exhibition football match involving Bollywood celebrities and Indian sports stars. The match is scheduled to begin around 5:00 PM IST, with Messi also expected to take the field briefly to greet fans.
The day will conclude with Messi attending a closed-door charity fashion show and auction, where memorabilia from Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph will be showcased.
Several Bollywood celebrities, including John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Tiger Shroff, are expected to attend both the exhibition match at Wankhede and the private charity gala.
Messi will travel to New Delhi on December 15 for the final leg of the GOAT India Tour, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend an event to felicitate players from the Minerva Academy.
The Argentine superstar returned to India after a gap of 14 years, having last visited in 2011 for a friendly match against Venezuela. During his Hyderabad stop, Messi participated in a seven-a-side exhibition match alongside Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and also presented a signed jersey to Gandhi.