Football legend Lionel Messi shared a video of his G.O.A.T. India Tour, but Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium was left out of the highlight video. The event was scheduled to start from Kolkata, but Messi’s social media team chose not to share footage from Kolkata, though a Bengali song is playing behind it. Kolkata saw a horrible day on December 13, as people vandalised the Salt Lake stadium after being unable to see Messi. The video, shared on Messi’s verified social media handles, features moments from Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, but excludes visuals from Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Asia’s largest football stadium.
Salt Lake Stadium missing from tour highlights
The montage captures Messi engaging with fans and participating in football-related activities across multiple cities. In Hyderabad, he is seen playing football alongside Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The video also includes visuals from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where Messi shared the stage with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, and from Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, where he received a warm reception from fans.
The video is captioned, “Namaste India! What incredible visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. Thanks for the warm welcome, great hospitality, and all the expressions of love throughout my tour. I hope football has a bright future in India!”
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While Kolkata is mentioned in the caption, no footage from the Salt Lake Stadium is there in the video. The only visual connected to Kolkata is from the unveiling of a statue of Messi at Lake Town.
Chaos at the Kolkata event casts a shadow
Visuals from Salt Lake Stadium were omitted from the video due to the controversy surrounding the Kolkata leg of Messi’s visit, where thousands of fans remained unable to see Messi properly, and Messi left the stadium abruptly after those fans at Salt Lake Stadium started booing the management, and after a few minutes, fans vandalised the stadium. Following the incident, authorities ordered an inquiry and arrested the event organiser. The episode also had political repercussions, as West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas submitted his resignation letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, vacating his post.
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Messi’s India tour was celebrated in other cities, but the absence of Salt Lake Stadium footage from the official highlight video has renewed debate over how organisational failures in Kolkata overshadowed what was expected to be a landmark moment for Indian football.
