In Kolkata, Lionel Messi is not merely a footballer. He is a feeling that has lived quietly and sometimes loudly inside the city for decades.
His name exists everywhere: etched permanently on tattoos, scribbled inside old sports diaries, glowing on mobile wallpapers. Every four years, during the World Cup, half of Kolkata turns sky blue. Lanes are draped with Argentine flags, buildings are painted in blue and white, and sleep becomes optional. When Argentina lifted the World Cup in Qatar, the city did not rest that night. Messi, their icon, had completed the journey they had walked with him for years.
That devotion never faded. Fans stayed awake through the night or woke up before dawn to watch him play in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami. Distance never mattered. The name “Messi” always bridged the gap.
This week, that distance disappeared. The GOAT Tour of India, a Satadru Dutta initiative, has brought Lionel Messi back to Kolkata, turning a long-held dream into reality for millions. The city buzzed with anticipation as fans queued for hours, paid heavily for passes, and flooded markets for Argentinian jerseys that sold out within days. More than a decade after his last visit in 2011, when Argentina played Venezuela at a packed Salt Lake Stadium, Messi was returning.
A 70-foot statue, claimed to be the tallest of Messi in the world, rose in Lake Town, a tribute by Sujit Bose, Minister of State Fire and Emergency Services. It stood not just as a structure, but as a symbol of how deeply the city holds him.
At 3 am, under a cold winter sky, thousands gathered outside Kolkata airport chanting, “Messi, Messi, Messi.” Lionel Messi arrived quietly with his close mates Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suárez. Though security moved him out through the back gate in a heavy police convoy, the moment still belonged to the fans.
The roads near the Hyatt hotel in Salt Lake were lined on both sides with people hoping for a glimpse. Some had travelled across states from Shillong, from Kerala, from beyond. One fan who had gone to Qatar but missed out on Argentina-match tickets finally smiled in relief. Another, disappointed when Argentina’s friendly in Kerala was cancelled, found his wait rewarded here.
For a city that has celebrated every Messi goal, shared every tear, and carried every triumph as its own, this is more than an event. With the next World Cup in North America likely to be Messi’s last, his visit to India is like a gift, a moment where devotion finally met destiny.
Also Read: Messi fans, the real heroes of the GOAT tour in Kolkata
