Fresh off helping Inter Miami win its first MLS Cup, Lionel Messi wasted no time getting back to work.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion spent the last few days on a four-city trip in India for a series of promotional events branded as Lionel Messi’s G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025.
While in India visiting Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, Messi was scheduled to make on-pitch appearances, attend concerts and youth football clinics, go to a padel tournament and launch charitable initiatives. There was no expectation that Messi would play in a competitive match, given he’s just come off a grueling championship campaign with Inter Miami and could play in the 2026 World Cup this summer (though, he has yet to formally commit to Argentina’s repeat bid).
So, seems simple enough, right?
Well … not so much. During Messi’s appearance on the first stop of the tour in Kolkata on Dec. 13, things got out of hand.
What happened in Kolkata?
Fans ripped up seats and threw those and other objects onto the pitch at the Salt Lake stadium. There were security breaches and fans running on the pitch. The event’s chief organiser, Satadru Dutta, was detained by police.
‘I am deeply disturbed and shocked by the mismanagement witnessed today at Salt Lake Stadium,’ Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal (India), wrote on X. ‘I sincerely apologize to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident.’
They did manage to unveil a 70-foot statue of Messi in Kolkata.
Why were fans in Kolkata so upset?
Well, despite no promise of Messi playing any sort of soccer, his appearance did not satisfy the fans who paid to get into the Salt Lake stadium to get a glimpse of the soccer G.O.A.T.
According to reports in the Indian media, Messi walked around the field waving to the fans, but was closely surrounded by a large group of people and left 20 minutes after arrival. Messi’s lap around the stadium was cut short due to security concerns.
Mayhem ensued when the fans realized they’d hardly see the soccer icon.
‘Absolutely terrible event,’ a fan told ANI. ‘(Messi) came for just 10 minutes. All the leaders and ministers surrounded him.
‘We couldn’t see anything. He didn’t take a single kick or a single penalty. He came for 10 minutes and left. So much money, emotions, and time wasted. We couldn’t see anything.’
Anything else happen during Messi’s other three stops in India?
There was no chaos at the final three stops of Lionel Messi’s G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025 in Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Events in those three locations — featuring Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul — went ahead without issues. The three players — fresh off an MLS Cup win — walked around the field occasionally kicking a ball into the packed stands, and engaged in kickabouts with local children.
Why was Messi on a tour so shortly after winning MLS Cup?
Like, why isn’t Messi hanging out on a South Florida beach relaxing and basking in the glory of leading a team that was a figment of David Beckham’s imagination a decade ago to a league championship?
(Insert money bag emoji here.)
Messi is in the twilight of his illustrious career — one that has him top of mind in any ‘greatest ever’ conversations — and at 38 years old, the window of opportunity to capitalize on his playing days is closing. In October, Messi signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami that runs through 2028. He’ll be in his 40s when that contract expires.
Anger over Messi tours is not new
Remember in early 2024 when Inter Miami went on an international tour during the preseason that included stops in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan? Who could forget?
Let’s just start this by saying that no MLS club should be going on a hyped-up global preseason tour. ‘Work in progress’ is a nice way of describing the state of most Major League Soccer teams’ rosters in the weeks leading up to the regular-season openers.
In a development that should have been anticipated, Inter Miami’s preseason tour did not go according to plan.
Inter Miami’s stop in Saudi Arabia was, well, less than encouraging. After a 4-3 loss to Al Hilal, Messi and Co. were clobbered 6-0 by Al Nassr, the club of Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t play in the game.
But Messi picked up a knock — ‘hamstring discomfort’ — and only came into the Al Nassr match as a late-game substitute. At Inter Miami’s next stop on the tour in Hong Kong, Messi did not play and the soccer G.O.A.T., his teammates and Beckham were serenaded with boos.
On the final leg of the preseason tour, Messi came on as a substitute again in a 0-0 draw against Vissel Kobe in Japan.
The 2024 MLS season went well for Messi, who won the first of two consecutive MVP awards and Inter Miami won the Supporters’ Shield.