Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi arrived in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Saturday as huge crowds of enthusiastic fans gathered at the airport to welcome him and lined the streets at midnight.
Indian news agency ANI said the football player, considered the greatest of his generation, was taken out of the airport via an alternative route as a large number of people were present at the airport to catch a glimpse of him.
Messi is visiting India as part of his “GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Tour” and he is set to visit four cities in total: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Messi visited Kolkata, the former capital of British-ruled India, for the first time in 2011.
This time, the football-mad city built a 70-foot-tall statue to mark his visit. The statue is to be inaugurated on Saturday and Messi is to attend the inauguration ceremony.
Messi is in India for less than 72 hours
Messi, who won Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award for the second consecutive season after leading Inter Miami to MLS Cup glory, is scheduled to visit Hyderabad and Mumbai before concluding the tour in New Delhi on Monday.
Messi is going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
The 2022 World Cup winner is set to cover India in less than 72 hours.
Messi is also accompanied on the tour by his Inter Miami club-mates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar