Lionel Messi to India confirmed? When will Argentina come to play in India?

Lionel Messi has finally achieved the one accolade that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career: the FIFA World Cup 2022 title. Argentina triumphed over France in a dramatic penalty shootout, and Messi etched his name into history with that victory. Throughout the tournament, Messi and his team received immense support from India, particularly from the people of Kerala. 

It now seems that Messi and the Argentina squad could make a visit to Kerala in the latter half of 2025. V. Abdurahiman, Kerala's sports minister, announced at an event in Kozhikode that Messi will visit the state for seven days, from October 25 to November 2. In addition to a friendly match, Messi is expected to spend 20 minutes on a public stage to interact with his fans in Kerala.  Change in dates expected?

 

However, there are doubts about this announcement, as the dates mentioned by the sports minister do not align with FIFA’s official international break windows. The FIFA windows for that period fall between October 6-14 and November 10-18, making the minister's claim about October 25 to November 2 potentially inaccurate.

Messi, now playing with Inter Miami in MLS, is believed to be in the twilight of his career. Throughout his exceptional football journey, Messi has garnered eight Ballon d'Or awards and has been named FIFA Best Player eight times. He is the most decorated player in football history, with 45 team trophies, including twelve league titles, four Champions Leagues, two Copa América titles, and, of course, the World Cup.

Messi also holds several records, including the most European Golden Shoes (6), most goals for a single club (672 with Barcelona), and the most goals, hat-tricks (36), and assists (192) in La Liga history. He remains Argentina's all-time top scorer and most-capped player. On the international stage, Messi led Argentina to three finals (the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario), although they finished as runners-up in all three tournaments.