5 legendary footballers who have visited India apart from Lionel Messi
5 legendary footballers who have visited India apart from Lionel Messi
With Lionel Messi all set to visit India for his GOAT India tour, let us have a look at five legendary footballers who have visited India previously. The likes of Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and David Beckham feature on the list.
5. Widely revered as one of the greatest footballers to ever play the sport, the late Brazilian great Pele was one of the few footballers to visit India. It is worth noting that Pele had active ties with India and visited the country twice. He came to play an exhibition match in India back in 1977 and was a special guest of honour when he re-visited the country in 2015 for a three-day tour.
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4. Former England midfielder David Beckham is also one of the few players to have made a visit to India. Beckham arrived in India back in 2011as a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador. He toured the country for seven days and also pledged to support Indian football.
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3. Former French midfielder, and one of the greatest players to ever play the game, Zinedine Zidane, is another name who has made a visit to India. With a FIFA World Cup and a Ballon d'Or to his name, Zidane was one of the most auspicious guests to visit India. He also visited India as a goodwill ambassador in 2006, and made a second visit in 2016 as well.
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2. Former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn also made a visit to India. One of the most iconic moments of his career, after a career filled with multiple titles, and numerous accolades, Kahn travelled to India to play the final game of his stellar career.
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1. One of the biggest footballers of all time, the late great Diego Maradona, is revered as one of the greatest players to play the game. Maradona made the visit to India twice, once in 2008 and the second time in 2017. He visited to play exhibition matches both times, and even had a bronze statue unveiled of himself in 2017 to mark his visit.
