Lionel Messi’s visit to India has once again shown how big his appeal as a global icon is, and it has fired up a familiar debate among sports buffs here, how does Messi stack up against India’s biggest sporting icon, Virat Kohli, in terms of fame and wealth?

Despite cricket being the dominant sport in India, the frenzy around Messi has been on another level. After a gap of 14 years, the Argentine legend arrived in Kolkata on December 13, and the welcome was nothing short of grand. Even Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was spotted lining up in Bengal to greet the football icon, underlining just how rare a moment this was.

It did not exactly turn out that way, though. Messi, with his tight schedule, remained only a few minutes at the Yuva Bharati (Salt Lake) Stadium and left almost immed

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