Argentine legend Lionel Messi visited Delhi on Monday in the final leg of his GOAT tour. After a 'meet and greet' event at Leela Palace, he arrived at Arun Jaitley Stadium, where fans had already gathered in large numbers to see their favorite hero. However, Messi was overwhelmed not just by the capital, but by the love he received throughout the entire GOAT tour. And he promised to return to India again in the future.
Before leaving Arun Jaitley Stadium, he delivered an emotional speech in Spanish. And expressed hope that he would come to India in the future to play a football match. While bidding farewell, Messi expressed gratitude to the fans, saying that just as love was showered upon him, everyone showed enthusiasm for Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul as well, and this deeply touched his heart.
Messi said in his speech, 'We are taking all this love with us. We will definitely come to India again, maybe to play a match or for some other occasion, but we will definitely come to India again. Thank you very much. I want to thank everyone for the love and affection received during these few days in India— this was truly a beautiful experience for us.'
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ICC Chairman Jay Shah also arrived at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium to meet Lionel Messi, Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul and presented them with Team India's T20 World Cup 2026 jersey. Messi was given the World Cup number 10 jersey. Jay Shah gave Messi additional gifts. He presented a signed cricket bat and along with it, an invitation to the opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 between India and the United States. Messi also played football with children at Kotla and took photographs.
