Legendary footballer Lionel Messi arrived in Mumbai today for the third leg of GOAT India Tour 2025 after his stint in Hyderabad. As he prepares to participate in the Padel GOAT Cup at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium), let's find out why the Argentine footballer will not play a complete match in India.
The event at Brabourne Stadium in south Mumbai is scheduled to start around 4:30 PM, marking the beginning of his Mumbai tour. The iconic footballer, who plays for Argentina and Major Soccer League (MLS) club Inter Miami, has no matches scheduled in India and the reason will take your breath away.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winning captain signed off one of the most expensive athlete insurance policies in the world which provides the superstar footballer medical insurance for up to 900 million dollars. Although the medical insurance safeguards the Argentina national team captain against financial damage from a career-threating injury, but he is not covered for injuries sustained during any matches that are not for his country or club. Notably, the insurance policies do not cover exhibition matches. If the player is injured in such a match, he risks losing out on compensation worth millions of dollars.
FIFS director explains 'insurance' factor
Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) Director General, Joy Bhattacharjya, in a post on Facebook stated, “One thing that all football fans must understand if they expected to watch Messi play in India. Any top international football star cannot play any kind of even semi-serious match if its not for country or club.”
The first Indian Head of Production of ESPN Star Sports in India added, "That's because they are insured against injury for millions of dollars for country or club matches, but their insurance does not cover other matches."
Suggesting that the insurance policy doesn't cover injuries sustained during casual matches, the director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup further noted, “So if they get injured playing any exhibition or casual matches they stand to lose ten of millions in compensation. It's a risk none of them can afford to take.”
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) director explained the 'insurance' factor with reference to legendary basketball player Michael Jordan who got 'Love of the Game' clause included in his contract with Chicago Bulls. This clause guarantees provision of medical expenses in case injury happens when he is not playing for Chicago Bulls. However, Messi's insurance policy does not include any such clause.
The Prime Volleyball League CEO stated, “There is an interesting story about this. Michael Jordan got a unique 'love of the game' clause inserted in his contract, because he enjoyed playing pick up games, and he played them as hard as he did NBA finals. So his insurance covered all games. But I don't think Messi or any contemporary star has that in their contracts.”
