During the visit of Argentina national team captain Lionel Messi to India, a series of interesting events took place. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
Initially, due to disturbances in Kolkata, the footballer headed to Hyderabad in the southern part of the country. Here, he was welcomed in a relatively calm environment.
During the visit, Messi's participation in a skill session with the Chief Minister of Telangana state, Revanth Reddy, attracted special attention. Although the minister's passes were almost inaccurate during the training, Messi and his friends Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul watched this with humor.
After the training, a small football game was organized. The minister managed to score one goal, while Messi scored twice against the opponent's goal.
The game took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, which is designed for cricket. Another notable incident occurred during the event: a guard shaking Messi's hand caused displeasure to the minister.
This incident drew the attention of many, but the guard did not seem upset by it. During Messi's visit to India, several famous personalities, including opposition politician Rahul Gandhi and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, also came to see him.
Messi is currently planning to travel to other parts of the country, including Mumbai and New Delhi. In the capital, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The events in Kolkata, however, did not pass in a very good mood. With Messi's arrival, fans caused disorder at the airport.
The exhibition match held at the 70,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium also did not satisfy many. Due to the excessive activity of officials and guards, Messi hardly met with the fans.
This led to protests in the stadium. Fans threw various objects onto the field, causing disturbances.
As a result, Messi left the stadium earlier than planned. According to one fan, they spent a large amount of money to see Messi, but the footballer appeared only for a short time.
These events revealed two different aspects of the visit to India: on one hand, Messi's popularity, and on the other, shortcomings in organization.
