Messi's India outing: Laser-lit skylines, packed stadiums, frenzied fans

Delhi braces for Argentina superstar's arrival as memories of Kolkata linger and football fever grips the country

New Delhi is going all out to ensure that when the GOAT comes calling, none of the Kolkata blues dampen the big Monday mood. With Lionel Messi’s landing in Kolkata — his first stop on a three-day, four-city India tour — at 2.26 am on Friday ending with fans on the rampage, the Argentina superstar’s Delhi outing promises to be a heightened security affair. 

Reports indicate that no less than 2,500 police personnel will be deployed in and around Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium), where Messi will play a nine-a-side exhibition match in the afternoon before felicitating players of Punjab-based Minerva Academy, winners of three major international youth tournaments this year. Nearly 30,000 spectators are expected to witness the event live. Traffic restrictions have been announced from 10 am till 5 pm in central Delhi. 

The megastar will then head for high-profile meetings, including one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, while a much-awaited meeting with cricket legend Virat Kohli is also expected to take place in the capital. 

While Messi’s India tour kicked off to a chaotic start in Kolkata, fans in Delhi remain thrilled and hopeful of catching a glimpse of their icon. “In 2011, watching him play in Kolkata was an exhilarating experience. Fifteen years on, it will be in my own city,” said Arijit Roy, a Messi fan since 2006. “This time, he comes as a World Cup champion — this would be our little World Cup moment.” 

Yet, the excitement is tempered by concerns over access. With ticket prices for the Delhi event starting at around ₹4,720, Roy said the celebration of sport risks becoming a privilege for a few. “I hope that at least the management would be better in Delhi,”

he added. 

That hope is shared across cities still buzzing in the wake of Messi’s arrival. The tour began in Kolkata with expectations running sky-high in a city that lives and breathes football. Instead, what promised to be a date with the greatest of all time spiralled into chaos at the Salt Lake stadium after Messi’s brief, 20-minute appearance was cut short due to security concerns.  A crush of VIPs seeking selfies crowded the pitch, denying thousands in the stands — many of whom had paid between ₹5,000 and ₹16,000 — even a fleeting glimpse. As Messi was hurried away, anger erupted in vandalism, with seats ripped out, banners torn and clashes breaking out with police. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee later apologised to “sports lovers” and set up a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to probe the incident, while the Kolkata Police arrested the organiser, Satadru Dutta. 

Hyderabad, the next stop, offered a measure of calm after the storm. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Messi spent nearly an hour engaging the crowd, exchanging passes and juggling the ball with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also had a fan moment, receiving a signed Argentina jersey from the footballer. 

“There was not a lot of football; people were expecting Messi to play more,” said Harsha Manchella, a Hyderabad resident who attended the event. “But they paid for seeing him live, and that experience was not ruined.” He pointed to smooth crowd and traffic management, adding that it felt good to see a sport other than cricket command such attention. 

As Messi’s tour rolled on, the ripple effects were visible off the field as well. 

In Delhi, jersey sales surged as fans scrambled to mark the moment. Online platform TeeMates reported a spike in demand for ‘Jersey 10’ (Messi’s number), and estimated an overall 20-30 per cent rise in sales, including renewed interest in Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys. At the city’s Jersey House, stocks were sold out. “We are trying to get updated stock as the jersey was recently changed. Old ones are sold out,” a salesman said. 

Even so, official clarity around the Delhi event remained limited. Football bodies in the capital said the programme is entirely privately organised. “We know there’s an event, but we have not planned anything as nobody is aware of the organising details,” an official from the Delhi Soccer Association said. 

In Mumbai, anticipation took on a carnival-like air. Fans gathered outside Wankhede Stadium, insisting their loyalty extended well beyond cricket. “Both our jerseys bleed blue — the Mumbai Indians and Argentina,” some said. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, lit up with illuminated cables forming a laser portrait of Messi, drew crowds to Dadar Chowpatty and nearby vantage points.

Abhishek Saindane, who had gone to Pune to get married, advanced his arrival to Mumbai to catch a glimpse of the football celebrity. “While fans may be divided over legends like Ronaldo and Messi, the sport unites people beyond rivalries, languages, and borders,” he said. 

For many, Messi’s visit has become a shared national moment, playing out across social media feeds filled with images from Kolkata and Hyderabad. 

Yet, even in the financial capital, the excitement was laced with caution. Visuals of vandalism from Kolkata had left fans hoping for tighter crowd control, particularly along Marine Drive, which has hosted massive gatherings in the past. Ticket prices at Wankhede also disappointed many. “The fact that Messi is in India is a huge deal for fans like me,” said Subrat Kumar, 30. “But the ticket prices are exorbitantly high. Often, when global superstars visit, it’s celebrities who get access while genuine fans are left out.” 

Others hoped the spectacle would leave a longer legacy. “It would have meant much more if fans had been able to interact with him,” said marketing professional Mridul Negi, adding that the visit should ideally inspire greater participation in football among young Indians. 

Fans on a rampage at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Saturday after Messi left following a brief appearance. Photo: Reuters