 "Messi's GOAT India Tour: 70-foot statue, Rs 10 lakh for photo and football star to walk the ramp")
Lionel Messi will be finally back in India after a long wait of 14 years and fans are super excited to meet the Argentine superstar who is considered among the greatest players the game of football has ever seen. Messi last visited India in 2011 for a friendly between Argentina and Venezuela.
On Messi’s first visit to India, fans packed the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata to watch their favourite star. This time, the Argentine will visit four cities on a three-day tour but there will be no competitive football.
Messi will land in Kolkata on December 13 before going to Hyderabad on the same evening. He will then embark for a trip to Mumbai the next day and on the final day of his tour, the superstar will be in Delhi.
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Fans can not wait for their favourite superstar to arrive in India and they are ready to shell out sums as huge as Rs 10 lakh to meet Messi. Here is all that Messi will be doing on his GOAT India tour.
December 13: Unveiling of tallest Messi statue
Messi will arrive in Kolkata around 1:30 am on Saturday. From 9:30 am to 10:30 am, he is scheduled to be engaged in a VIP meet and greet programme.
After that, Messi will be virtually inaugurating his 70-foot tall statue at Lake Town in South Dum Dum, Kolkata. This is touted to be the tallest Messi statue in the world.
The Argentine superstar will then join the ‘King of Bollywood’ Shah Rukh Khan at the Salt Lake Stadium for a tribute programme. This will happen around 11:30 am and soon former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee are also expected to join.
An exhibition match then takes place before Messi wraps up in Kolkata to move to Hyderabad.
Rs 10 lakh for photo in Hyderabad
Messi will be in Uppal Stadium for the programme starting 7 pm. A 20-minute exhibition match will kick things off with Telangana chief minister also expected to take part.
It is in Hyderabad that meet and greet tickets are being sold for Rs 10 lakh. 100 fans can get group photographs with Messi, shake hands but they will have to shell out a massive amount for it.
Messi will also be at a football clinic in Hyderabad. He will be spending the night in the city before leaving for Mumbai next day.
December 14: Ramp walk in Mumbai
The caravan then moves to Mumbai on December 14 where Messi will be participating in Padel Cup at the Cricket Club of India. At 4 pm then a celebrity football match will be organised. Tiger and Jackie Shroff, John Abraham and several others are expected to attend.
Messi will also be walking on the ramp in a charity fashion show in the evening.
Luis Suarez will also be in attendance in the events.
December 15: Meeting with PM Modi
The next day, December 15, will be the final of Messi’s India tour. He will meet prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and around 1:30 pm, there will be an event at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital. It will be a 2:30 hour long event in Delhi where the felicitation of Minerva Academy players will also take place.
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