Messi GOAT tour India, Day 3 Highlights: Lionel Messi to spend night at Vantara after Delhi visit

"This is the pen that Messi signed with, and I feel like the luckiest person on Earth. I feel like one in a million. Just look at the signature," a young fan, who was present at the event in Delhi earlier, said.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have arrived in Jamnagar to spend a night in Gujarat. They will visit Vantara and stay there for the night. The two will be hosted by Anant Ambani, Director of Reliance Industries Limited.

Messi is not leaving India today. As per sources, he will travel to Vantara and will spend the night there.

Lionel Messi, Suarez and Rodrygo de Silva have left the venue after being in the middle for 40 minutes.

Lionel Messi also gave a short speech, greeting fans and thanking them for all the love showered to him during his GOAT tour of India!! He must be thrilled to see the jam-packed stadium.

ICC President Jay Shah gifts Team India's World Cup jersey to Messi, Suarez and Rodrygo.

He also gifted them a signed bat of the players.

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, ICC President Jay Shah and DDCA President Rohan Jaitley have come on stage to meet Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Rodygo de Silva on the stage.

Lionel Messi is on the stage now, taking pictures with kids as fans continue to chant his name in delight.

Lionel Messi and two other footballers are enjoying his time in the middle. They are loving the atmosphere out there and are now taking a picture with the kids after having a football clinic with them.

Lionel Messi is now playing football with kids at the middle of a jersey. He also shook his hands with the kids and the players are trying to tackle Messi, De Silva and Suarez. 

Messi, Suarez and Rodrygo are taking a lap of the stadium, waving at the fans...Fans are extremely happy, seeing their favourite football player.

Messi is here for the fans and he is gifting the football for the fans with his kicks. The crowd is chanting his name relentlessly and it is all worth it as the fans watching their hero LIVE.

Luis Suarez and Rodrygo de Silva are also assisting Lionel Messi on this tour!!

Lionel Messi has reached Arun Jaitley Stadium, finally!!  Crowd cheers big as he enters the stadium

Minerva Messi All Stars have won the match by a margin of 6-0. They have blanked the opposition here. We are now waiting for Messi to arrive.

Meanwhile, the exhibition football match between Celebrity Messi All Stars and Minerva Messi All Stars is underway at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Messi is yet to reach the venue but might reach soon. 

A Messi fan has come with a poster to let him know that he skipped his school. But Messi is yet to reach the stadium, The kid might well have done his school and come by now!!

A jam-packed Arun Jaitley Stadium is waiting eagerly for Lionel Messi's arrival

Fans are eagerly waiting for Lionel Messi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The venue is jam-packed and chanting 'Messi, Messi...' But when will Messi arrive at the stadium?

Here's the video of Lionel Messi landing at the Delhi airport amidst tight security.

Here's Messi's itinerary in Delhi. His delayed arrival in the capital city has disrupted plans but things are expected to go as planned at Arun Jaitley Stadium

Meet and Greet event at Leela Palace

Celebrity football match

 Lionel Messi’s grand entry

 Football clinic with 30 kids

 Stage ceremony

After a long delay, Lionel Messi has finally landed in Delhi at 2:30 PM IST. He headed straight to Leela Palace where he is scheduled to attend a closer door meet and greet with a select group of guests.

After that, he will head to Arun Jaitley Stadium where an event is set to take place.

Outside The Leela Palace hotel, fans express their love for Football star Lionel Messi through a collection of his photographs

The fans are waiting with bated breath outside the Leela Palace to get a glimpse of their favourite footballer. Messi will arrive at the hotel first, before going to the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Messi's arrival in Delhi was delayed. Messi was set to arrive in Delhi at around 11 AM, but with the meeting with PM Modi was cancelled. Now, Messi is likely to arrive at 2 PM, and get to the venue at around 4 PM, following a scheduled meet and greet.

It seems like Messi will directly go to the Arun Jaitley Stadium, after a brief stop at the hotel. Messi left Mumbai late and is set to fly in a few minutes and will reach Delhi in a couple of hours. There are a few events scheduled to be held at the stadium, including a celebrity football match, before Messi attends an Adidas event and leaves for his home.

After the cultural events, felicitations and celebrity match at the Kotla, Messi will attend an Adidas event at Purana Qila, before later departing to the airport to catch his flight at around 8 in the evening. With the meeting with the Prime Minister off, it will be interesting to see if Kohli is part of the event on Monday or any other big celebrities.

“Football is about joy, and today I felt that joy with the fans,” Messi remarked in Mumbai. The fans thronged in numbers and saw a rare fusion of cricket and football, with two legends - Messi and Sachin Tendulkar - together on one stage, while the authorities in the city were prepared for the event and the fans too got a decent glimpse of the legend. Delhi will hope to meet the similar expectations.

Several reports suggest that Virat Kohli might be one of the two cricketers that Messi will meet at the Stadium and both will also be part of the celebrity football match. However, there is no confirmation of the Indian cricket stalwart's arrival in the country. Messi met Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) and Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) in the respective cities.

Messi will travel to Delhi in a charter flight from Mumbai and will arrive at around 12:30 PM IST. With the meeting with PM Modi off, Messi will most likely meet just the CJI and Army Chief, apart from a meet and greet session at the hotel. The spectators are expected to be seated by 2:30 PM for the event at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving for a three-country trip, starting with Jordan and will then travel to Ethiopia and Oman. Since his flight was scheduled for 8:30 AM and will now leave a bit later, being delayed due to fog in Delhi, it seems like there will be no meeting between him and Messi. While several reports suggested that PM Modi would leave after the meeting, but it was a morning departure and hence, the list of dignitaries to meet the football legend, will not include the Prime Minister.

“This is not a loss for just one person or any political party; it is a loss for Bengal and for the whole country," AIFF Chief Kalyan Chaubey said, expressing his disappointment at the Kolkata event.  “If today India bids for an international match in West Bengal, this event will act as an impediment. It is not just about today, when the event could not be held properly, its impact will be felt for 50 years in Bengal."

Please read carefully, if anyone is planning to use their own vehicles to get to the venue.

The air quality in Delhi, with smoke, fog and pollution, hasn't been the best, and hopefully, it doesn't prove to be a huge hindrance, especially when Messi and Co will be out in the open at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. While the meet and greets and various VVIP meetings will be behind closed doors, the stadium programs and celebrity football match will be later in the day, in the afternoon, and hence, the smog might not be a huge factor, but yes, the breathable air will remain poor.

Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis welcomed Messi at the Wankhede Stadium. Messi, Suarez and others were felicitated, before Fadanvis and Co. announced ‘Project Mahadeva’ under which, 60 promising footballers selected from across Maharashtra will receive a five-year residential scholarship from the Government of Maharashtra.

-Arrival in Delhi at 10:45 AM, followed by a 50-minute ‘Meet and Greet’ session at a city hotel and then go to meet PM Modi at his residence for a 20-minute interaction

-The interaction with PM Modi will be followed by a visit to the residence of an MP, a meeting with the Argentine Ambassador to India, Mariano Agustin Caucino, followed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.

-After the VVIP meets, Messi will head to the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where he will be welcomed with a musical performance, head to a smaller football field to be part of a celebrity match. There is a football clinic with 22 children that will be held from 3.55 pm to 4.15 pm. Messi will then head to the centre of the field, where two Indian cricketers will give him a gift. The Argentine legend will hand over two pre-signed jerseys to both.

It has been a mixed tour of India for Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, with the fans not having enough time to get a glimpse of their favourite, with the politicians and administrators hogging the limelight. The tour has certainly got better after a disappointing start in Kolkata, moving to Hyderabad and Mumbai, and it will now culminate in Delhi today.