Football legend Lionel Messi stole the limelight during the second day of his GOAT India tour as he visited Mumbai on Sunday, December 14. Messi, along with fellow players Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, attended a special program at the iconic Wankhede Stadium as the fans cheered for the icons present at the venue.
It was a packed Wankhede Stadium with fans in a big capacity. Messi arrived at the Stadium a little before 6 PM IST, when an All-Stars friendly match was underway with the likes of India football legend Sunil Chhetri, Delhi Capitals co-owner and actor Dino Morea, among others, in action.
Wankhede goes gaga as Messi makes appearance
As Messi entered the ground, fans cheered for the Argentine legend. He received a welcome on a red carpet along with his fellow footballers with bigwigs in attendance too. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis were also present at the iconic venue.
Messi met the All-Stars players before taking a lap of honour at the ground. He kicked some balls to the crowd as the Stadium's atmosphere turned into an electrifying one. Messi also interacted with young kids.
Messi holds India flag, meets Sachin as legends share gifts
In what were glorious moments during the event, cricket legend Sachin met football icon Messi during the event. The two shared gifts, with Sachin presenting his India jersey to the Argentine, while the footballer gifted a World Cup ball to the Indian icon.
In another beautiful moment, Messi held India's flag as he shared for the cameras along with Fadnavis and Sachin, while Luis Suarez held Uruguay's flag and Rodrigo posed with the Argentina flag.
What's next for Messi?
Two out of three days of Messi's GOAT tour have now been completed. He visited Kolkata and Hyderabad on the first day on Saturday and then went to Mumbai on Sunday.
Messi will now head to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Army chief Upendra Dwivedi in Delhi on Monday.
Messi will arrive in the national capital at 10:45 am, and after a 50-minute ‘Meet and Greet’ session at a city hotel, he will head to the PM’s residence. He will spend 20 minutes with Modi.
Messi will head to the residence of an MP, where he is also set to meet the Argentine Ambassador to India, Mariano Agustin Caucino, besides CJI Justice Surya Kant and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.
Messi’s convoy will then move to the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where a few programmes are lined up.