Colourful confetti showered Lionel Messi after he wrapped up his controversial four-city tour of India. The Argentine superstar's visit ended at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, where Indian fans packed the stands and chanted loudly during his half-hour appearance.
India briefly put aside its cricket obsession and descended into "Messimania" after the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner arrived late on Friday with thousands of fans waiting outside Kolkata airport. But Saturday's event in Kolkata turned chaotic as angry fans stormed the pitch after Messi made only a brief appearance at the event. The main organizer was detained by police.
The events in Hyderabad and Mumbai featuring the 38-year-old Messi and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul went off without a hitch, and everything went according to plan in Delhi.
The trio strolled around the pitch, occasionally kicking balls into the packed stands.
“It was a dream come true for us to see him in the flesh,“ one fan, who attended the event with his wife and two sons, told Reuters.
“We travelled to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, but we couldn't get tickets for any of Argentina's matches there. "At least we saw Messi here," said the fan, whose entire family showed up wearing Argentina kits.
Cricket, however, managed to sneak into the event.
Messi, Suarez and De Paul were presented with Indian cricket team kits by International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, along with tickets to next year's Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.