Playoffs, fan meet-and-greets, fashion shows, and, above all, a heady football fever. India is set to welcome football legend Lionel Messi on a three-day Greatest of All Times (GOAT) tour across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

The private tour — from Saturday to Monday — will see the icon follow a packed schedule, meeting VIPs and fans in stadiums, playing exhibition matches and interacting with young footballers. Sources said Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez and Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo De Paul will accompany him on the tour.

A day before his visit, Kolkata , where the tour begins, was drenched in Argentina’s celeste blue-and-white, with ‘Messi’ jerseys visible at every corner.

For the city, this visit is special, not only because Messi’s last trip here — and Indi

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