Lionel Messi returns to India for a second time as he begins is much-awaited GOAT Tour from October 13. He will visit four Indian cities – Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi – and he is sure to be greeted with massive fanfare.
The tour begins in Kolkata – not because of convenience or capacity, but because no other Indian city carries football in its bloodstream the way that it does. Messi’s India tour does not just start here- it fits here organically, historically, and emotionally.
Where Football Became Identity
When Mohun Bagan’s barefoot team defeated East Yorkshire Regiment to lift the 1911 IFA shield, it was the ultimate underdog story. It also symbolized that India can fight toe to toe with the British on any field. This match became a myth, and football became a cultural identity.
Starting Messi’s tour here links his own story, one defined by artistry, resillience and overcoming impossible odds, with a city whose connection to football is equally heroic. His tour thus begins in the oldest heartbeat of Indian football.
The Stage Chosen by Legends
Lionel Messi’s GOAT tour in Kolkata is not a new chapter, but a continuing tradition that has been established in the city years ago. Almost every footballing icon who has stepped on to Indian soil has arrived in Kolkata first.
Pele electrified Kolkata in 1977, when he played an exhibition match with New York Cosmos. Diego Maradona visited the city twice, and had vividly expressed his surprise at the love for football in this part of the world. Germany’s World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus encountered frenzy that rivalled European football capitals.
Legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn played his last-ever football match in Kolkata, where a full-house Salt Lake Stadium cheered him on as their own. Emiliano Martinez, too received a warm welcome when he toured the city after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi, too, played here in 2011, when Argentina faced Venezuela in an international friendly match, when the city rose around him like a tidal wave of devotion. Thus, his India Tour beginning in Kolkata restores that moment – not as nostalgia, but as continuity. No other Indian city hosts greatness with such instinctive naturalness.
Where Passion Matches Messi’s Artistry
Kolkata offers the most emotionally literate football audience in India. This is the city that bears witness to the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan rivalry- one of the fiercest footballing rivalries in the world. When the two play, the stadium burns with the intensity of Buenos Aires’ Superclasico, or the Spanish El Clasico.
During World Cups, almost half of Kolkata becomes Messi’s country. Entire houses and neighbourhoods are draped in the Albiceleste, Argentina’s national colours. When Messi finally won the World Cup in 2022, Kolkata did not sleep as Argentina’s triumph was celebrated with fireworks and victory parades.
Perhaps the clearest proof of Kolkata’s footballing soul came in 2017, during the FIFA U-17 World Cup final, where England played Spain. Kolkata packed out the Salt Lake Stadium for a junior final involving two foreign teams. More than 66,000 people roared through a match that had no Indian stake simply because the city cannot resist football of any kind. That night, FIFA officials admitted they had rarely seen such passion at a youth tournament anywhere in the world.
Thus Kolkata gives Lionel Messi’s India Tour a stage that understands his language. The city does not simply cheer him. It feels him.
Where Indian Football Was Shaped
If the GOAT Tour honours the greatest ever footballer, it must begin in the city that shaped India’s own footballing identity. Kolkata has produced giants of Indian foball right from Gostha Pal, Sailen Manna to Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee and Subhash Bhowmick.
The golden eras of the national team, including the pinnacle of Indian football where they clinched the 1962 Asian Games gold medal, was built around Bengali excellence.
Messi arriving here first is not a marketing decision; it is an acknowledgement. The India Tour begins where Indian football itself took shape.
A City Ready to Welcome Messi Again
For Kolkata, Messi has never been a distant star. He has been a shared dream for two decades. Children practising step-overs imagine his left foot.
This is why the India Tour beginning here feels less like planning and more like destiny. Messi is not stepping into an unfamiliar crowd; he is returning to a city that has loved him with generational intensity.
The India Tour could have opened anywhere. But only Kolkata could give it meaning.