This article was first published in 2020 and has been updated.

Lionel Messi received a hero's welcome when he touched down in India overnight to embark on a special, weekend-long tour of the country.

As part of the so-called "GOAT" tour, the 38-year-old is visiting Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi over the course of three days, accompanied by two old friends in the shape of former Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul , who played alongside Messi in Argentina 's World Cup winning side of 2022.

The first stop was Kolkata, where Messi -- who is fresh from captaining Inter Miami to a historic MLS Cup triumph -- travelled to the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town in order to take part in a meet-and-greet session before unveiling a gigantic new statue that ha

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