As you race towards the Salt Lake Stadium, past the clock tower in Lake Town, your eyes can’t help but catch a gargantuan statue of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, almost engulfing Kolkata’s hazy skyline. The 70ft tall structure, which has been christened “Monumento de Messi”, depicts the World Cup winner posing with the trophy he won in Qatar in 2022. The visage, however, was covered on Friday with the face set to be officially unveiled after it’s remotely inaugurated by Messi on Saturday as he begins his four-city GOAT Tour from Kolkata, the city he returns to 14 years after playing a FIFA friendly match vs Venezuela in 2011.
But with one day to go for the official event surrounding the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner to begin, the mood around Kolkata is yet to replicate the emotions that had showered the magician back in 2011. While there were still a lot of fans present in and around the Salt Lake Stadium, collecting their tickets as well as Messi scarves and jerseys, the excitement had yet to reach fever pitch. That could be because Messi won’t be playing any competitive football this time around.
The 70 ft Lionel Messi statue with its face covered in Lake town on Friday. (Express Photo | Sayak Dutta)Despite the steep ticketing prices, starting from Rs 3800 and ranging up to Rs 11,800, the Salt Lake Stadium is unlikely to wear a deserted look. On Friday, tickets were still available in many blocks of the iconic stadium, which was chock-a-block during the 2011 visit.
Star power
Messi will be accompanied by Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul and is set to land in the city at 1.30 AM on Saturday (December 13). The event is set to start at 10 AM and end by 1.05 PM, said Aneesh Sarkar, the deputy commissioner of police of Bidhannagar, in a Facebook video shared by the Bidhannagar City Police. “All 5 gates will be opened for the fans at 7 AM,” he added.
There will be a musical concert celebrating the Argentine superstar and a 7 vs 7 football match taking place where Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan ‘Messi’ All Stars will take on Diamond Harbour ‘Messi’ All Stars. Messi and Co will also be attending a masterclass with scouted children and is expected to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, among others.
Before that, from 9.30 AM to 10.30 AM, the Argentine superstar will take part in a meet and greet event where people will have a chance to meet him up close, shake his hand and have a special group photo taken with him. For this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, fans will have to fork out Rs 10 lakhs.
After attending the event, Messi will leave the city at around 2 pm, as per reports and fly off to Hyderabad to continue the tour.
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Fans flock in
Fans present to collect their tickets on Friday wore excited looks. “I really like Messi since I was a child. I dreamed that when Messi came here, I would come, “ said Tory Dakhr, a fan who came from Meghalaya. Rangdajied Suchainag, also from Meghalaya, said Messi was like a god to them, the best player in the world. Asked if he had attended the 2011 match, he said that he was a kid back then, but his uncles attended the match, proving once and for all that the Messi fandom is generational.
Right panel: Andrewman, a Lionel Messi fan from Kerala, selling stickers of the Argentine superstar. Left panel: Fans from Meghalaya Tory Dakhr (left) and Rangdajied Suchainag (centre) pose with Argentina jerseys and scarves. (Express Photo | Sayak Dutta)
“We are having a lot of sales. Players like Messi and Ronaldo should keep coming to India. After the Kolkata event, we’ll be going to Delhi also,” a shopkeeper selling replicas of Messi’s Argentina jerseys and scarves chimed in.
In front of Gate No 1 stood Andrewman, a Keralite selling postcards and Messi stickers, who had landed in Kolkata almost four days before Messi was scheduled to be there. With almost childlike glee, he said that he hopes to be at the airport in the wee hours on Saturday, hoping to catch a glimpse of his idol.
“The stickers are all 20 bucks each; some are procured from online, while some are designed by me. I have been doing this for the past 3 years. Sales are going pretty good. Since my childhood, I am a Messi fan. I love football. I love all the players, and Messi is on top of that list,” he said.
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