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Lionel Messi waving to fans in New Delhi on Monday Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Lionel Messi’s three-day ‘GOAT Tour’ to India — marred by chaotic scenes inside a stadium and the tour’s promoter being arrested and detained — has come to an end. Messi arrived in India on December 13 to thousands of fans lining the streets to catch a glimpse of who many believe is the greatest footballer of all time, hence the tour being called ‘GOAT’, an acronym of greatest of all time. Advertisement And after visits to Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and ending his trip in New Delhi, the country’s capital, the Argentine World Cup winner, who was joined by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, two of his Inter Miami team-mates, certainly left his mark. There were scenes of jubilation, plenty of photo opportunities with some of India’s biggest sporting stars, including Sachin Tendulkar, the cricket great, and a trip to Anant Ambani’s wildlife rescue centre in New Delhi (the Ambanis are one of the wealthiest families in the world). ? BREAKING: Indian Billionaire couple Anant Ambani and Radhika Ambani named a lion cub “Lionel” during Lionel Messi’s visit to Vantara. ? ? pic. twitter. com/t Bq GPCoj Q1 — Inter Miami News Hub (@Intermiamicfhub) December 16, 2025 It wasn’t all plain sailing, though, as plenty of fans were left disappointed and feeling short-changed on what they had been sold. The Athletic details the controversy surrounding Messi’s three-day trip to India… A week on from lifting the MLS Cup with Inter Miami, Messi jetted off to India on a three-day promotional tour, where he was joined by Suarez and De Paul. He initially flew into Kolkata, where he was due to make an hour-long appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium, only for it to end in chaos and the 38-year-old to leave the pitch after 20 minutes, before heading to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. After his final appearance at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, Messi addressed the crowd in Spanish and implied he would be back in the future. “Everything you did for us over these three days was astonishing, pure madness, ” the Times of India reported Messi as saying. “So, thank you for all the love, and we will surely return someday, perhaps to play a match or on some other occasion, but we will definitely visit again. ” Advertisement There is no doubt that cricket is by far the most popular sport in India. If it were possible, you may even argue that cricket would also be the second, third, fourth and fifth most popular sport in the country. But that does not mean football struggles to capture the imagination of fans in the world’s most populous nation (1. 4 billion). In fact, Rajrup Biswas, the founder of Off Guard Sports, a marketing and entertainment agency in Kolkata, told The Athletic in March that “there is a huge passion for football in India” — and to have a player like Messi visiting will only serve to boost Indian supporters’ appetite for the game. Messi is a global superstar who has transcended football, with more than a combined 625 million followers on Instagram (510m) and Facebook (116m). Samiksh VR, a 32-year-old from Shimoga, south India, says: “It’s sometimes misunderstood that India does not have a lot of football fans, but that is far from the truth. If you look at the supporters of European clubs and the craziness during World Cups, Copa America or Euros, no one would assume India doesn’t have football fans. ” As for the domestic game, however, there are problems. Messi’s visit came with the 2025-26 Indian Super League season yet to begin due to issues between the federation and commercial partners. In short, there were scenes of violence and vandalism, with footage from ANI, India’s news agency, showing supporters invading the pitch, ripping up seats, vandalising the stands, destroying goal nets, and throwing objects. The thousands of fans in attendance had paid up to 12, 000 rupees (£100; $133) — several times the average Indian weekly salary — to access the stadium. Messi was due to be there for around an hour, but left after 20 minutes and was closely guarded by a large group of people, meaning fans struggled to catch a glimpse of him. Advertisement His appearance was preceded by a friendly match between all-stars from West Bengal clubs Mohun Bagan AC and Diamond Harbour FC. Samiksh, who flew two hours from Bangalore to attend the event in Kolkata, tells The Athletic: “Everyone was chanting ‘Messi, Messi’. There was music and some dancing. Then the two teams came out to play. We assumed Messi would be introduced at half-time and we would get to cheer him. Midway through the second half, there were suddenly large cheers, an SUV entered from my right, and that’s where Messi got out. “He was immediately surrounded by his security detail, some politicians, and others. The moment they got next to him, and he started moving to the field, the entire media started following him. It was not one or two people, he was literally surrounded by no less than 200 people from the moment he got out of the car. Everyone just hogged Messi, running over, giving him jerseys, taking photographs, falling at his feet — absolute chaos. “It’s sad how it was supposed to be a celebration of the greatest player in the world coming to a place that adores football, and that turned into an event nobody would want to be a part of. ” It was a stark contrast to Messi’s last visit to the 85, 000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium in 2011, which saw him captain Argentina for the first time in a friendly against Venezuela. The All India Football Federation was quick to condemn the scenes and also distanced itself from the event. “This was a private event organised by a PR agency, ” its statement, posted on X, read. “The AIFF was not involved in the organisation, planning, or execution of this event in any capacity. ” Following the Kolkata event, Reuters reported that Satadru Dutta, the event’s ‘main organiser’, had been arrested. Advertisement “We’ve already detained the main organiser, ” Rajeev Kumar, director of West Bengal police, told local reporters. “We’re taking action so that this mismanagement does not go unpunished. He (Dutta) has already pledged in writing that tickets sold for the event should be refunded. ” Telegraph India reported on Tuesday that a further six people linked to Dutta’s company had been arrested. It also reported that Dutta was about to fly to Hyderabad before his arrest and noted that he was denied bail and remanded in custody for 14 days, adding that a committee was launched at the request of Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, to investigate the incidents. Before the chaotic scenes inside the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, Messi spent 90 minutes participating in a meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with 100 supporters, costing fans a reported one million rupees (£8, 200; $11, 000). Messi also met Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at his hotel in Kolkata. After the disorder in Kolkata, the tour went relatively smoothly over the next two days, except for a delayed flight from Mumbai to New Delhi due to adverse weather conditions. There were further photo opportunities with politicians and celebrities, including Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader, in Hyderabad, and Tendulkar in Mumbai. Tendulkar presented the Argentine with a Team India jersey. Messi also met Sunil Chhetri, widely considered to be India’s greatest footballer, who is fourth — behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Iran’s Ali Daei — on the list of the all-time highest international goalscorers. “To be able to express my gratitude to Leo Messi in person for everything that he has done for our sport felt like both a dream and a duty, ” Chhetri posted on Instagram. At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Messi kicked footballs into the enthusiastic crowd and stayed to watch a friendly seven-a-side match between the Indian Stars and the Mitra Stars, who were led by Chhetri and his Bengaluru FC team-mates. Advertisement Oh, yes. Messi’s tour kick-started in Kolkata with the unveiling of a 21-metre statue of himself lifting the World Cup. The 38-year-old unveiled the statue remotely as opposed to in person… This Messi statue in Kolkata, India ? pic. twitter. com/J8g Wd IR92r — Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 12, 2025 As you would expect after the Kolkata appearance, there were plenty of disgruntled supporters. Samiksh, who was at the Kolkata event, tells The Athletic: “The event was managed well, but I did not get to see Messi at all, given there were 200 people surrounding him at all times. I tried zooming in with my phone, but ultimately, I had to resort to watching the screen (in the stadium). It would have been better to stay home and watch it (on a stream). It felt like we were watching TV. ” Elsewhere, and in an unfortunate circumstance, one Indian supporter told PTI, a news agency, and reported by News18, that he had skipped his wedding to attend the Kolkata event. “Everyone knows that Messi was supposed to come to Kolkata, ” News18 reported him saying. “It’s my wedding today. Mera shaadi chhod ke aaya (I left my wedding and came here); but even then, our expectations were not fulfilled. “His presence did feel good, I liked it; just his presence means a lot to me. But seeing him only from such a distance was not what we had expected. ” Another supporter revealed how he had “cancelled” his honeymoon in order to attend the GOAT Tour. So despite there being some excellent moments for Messi and his fans on the ‘GOAT’ tour, the Kolkata event and its fallout soured it for many. Additional reporting: Anantaajith Raghuraman From Pelé to Messi, Cruyff to Mbappé, this is our definitive ranking of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch. From Pelé to Messi, Cruyff to Mbappé, this is our definitive ranking of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch. Dan Sheldon is a football news correspondent for The Athletic. He has previously covered Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Southampton FC. Follow Dan on Twitter @Dan_Sheldon_