Messi's Kolkata Stop Sparks Chaos on India's GOAT Tour
13 December 2025
Messi's Kolkata Stop Sparks Chaos
The visit of Argentine star Lionel Messi, captain of Inter Miami, to Kolkata turned chaotic as the football legend left Salt Lake Stadium after less than 20 minutes.
That moment angered fans who had come to see the Argentine icon, prompting water bottles and chairs to be hurled in protest of what many called a disorganized event.
Messi arrived with his Inter Miami teammates, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, early Saturday as part of the tour dubbed the G.O.A.T Tour of India 2025, spanning Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
The welcome in the streets and outside the airport was electric, with thousands cheering the World Cup winner, but the high hopes for the visit quickly faded.
Messi was surrounded by a host of public figures and celebrities, making it hard for fans to spot him, while tickets reportedly cost up to 12,000 Indian rupees (about $132).
Messi left the stadium without a lengthy interaction or a fan event as planned, prompting fans to storm sections of the arena, topple chairs, and hurl seats and bottles toward the pitch.
According to the announced plan, the Salt Lake Stadium spectacle was to run about two hours as Messi wandered the field, meeting several prominent figures, from Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan to cricket legend Sourav Ganguly and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But none of these meetings occurred.
Bottom line: Kolkata's reception was electric, if imperfect, and the GOAT Tour of India 2025 still has four more stops to go. For now, fans are left with stories that will outlive the goals. And yes, even legends can underestimate the drama of a stadium exit. The crowd delivers a chaotic finale that would make any director proud.
