The final leg of Lionel Messi’s three-day GOAT Tour was hit by an unexpected snag after the Argentine superstar’s flight from Mumbai to New Delhi was delayed by nearly an hour due to adverse weather conditions in the national capital on Monday.
Dense fog severely impacted flight operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi this morning, resulting in the cancellation of 61 flights and the diversion of five others due to low visibility, according to airport sources.
Lines of excited fans stretched for a few kilometres all around the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the hours leading up to Messi’s appearance at the venue. Once the masses started taking their seats after negotiating multiple layers of security, though, they were met with a message on a screen in front of the Gautam Gambhir Stand that read: “Due to adverse weather conditions, Messi’s flight has been delayed. The event will commence 40 minutes later than scheduled.”
Messi’s proposed meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stood cancelled on Monday. Messi was scheduled to meet Modi in Delhi with a 21-minute protocol charted for the same. However, the meeting was cancelled on Sunday with Modi slated to travel to Oman, Ethiopia and Jordan on a four-day visit, discussing bilateral ties between India and the three nations.
“Today, I am embarking on a three-nation visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Sultanate of Oman, three nations with which India shares both age-old civilizational ties, as well as extensive contemporary bilateral relations,” the Prime Minister said in his statement.
For Day 2 of the “GOAT India Tour,” on Sunday, thousands of devoted fans filled the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to the brim, which was loud and expectant as they eagerly awaited Messi. Beside him were his club teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez. But all eyes were on Messi as cameras kept flashing where the star ventured. Messi would share moments with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and India football stalwart, Sunil Chhetri.
As the global icon made his way around the stadium—to a sea of raised phones—a group of 60 children experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the chance to step onto the pitch and share a moment of passing the ball with arguably the greatest footballer in history.
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Messi’s final India stop-over in Delhi is slated to comprise of a felicitation event at the Kotla grounds, before which a celebrity football match and a football clinic meet-and-greet with 30 young kids from the Minerva Academy has been arranged.
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