Messi fever has gripped Kolkata and Hyderabad, the first two cities on the Argentine superstar’s G.O.A.T India Tour 2025, which will be low on football but high on pomp and spectacle.

In Kolkata, where the legend lands on Saturday morning, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are set to greet him at the Salt Lake Stadium – the same venue where in 2011 he had displayed his magical artistry in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 people as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0. This time, only two local teams are playing, but the organisers are hopeful of selling nearly 80,000 tickets, some costing as high as ₹7,000, as fan frenzy has gripped the city.

“This is the second time Kolkata will be able to witness the great Lionel Messi. It is a great initiative

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