Kolkata is all set to welcome Lionel Messi on December 12. The following day, an event called Hola Messi will be held at the Salt Lake Aikatan Club. Messi’s visit is a part of his GOAT India Tour.
Meanwhile, to make the legend feel ‘at home’, the Argentina Football Fan Club Kolkata has created a special tribute in Salt Lake. It has recreated Messi’s Miami home. The house features a terrace with statues, terracotta roofs and life-sized cutouts of Messi and his family, ANI reported.
Inside the venue, the organisers have set up a museum-style space that honours Messi’s long career. Fans will see replicas of his most prestigious trophies, including La Liga titles, the Champions League, the Copa América, the World Cup, the Ballon d’Or and the Golden Boot.
The ceiling features 896 footballs, marking every goal Messi has scored. A 200-metre LED wall will play highlights from his best matches. Organisers are charging ₹10 as an entry fee. However, according to them, it is only to control crowds and track visitors, ANI added.
"We did all these because Messi is coming to Calcutta. I don't like to watch Messi on a small TV at home. The public is also very happy. Messi, please come and watch what your fans can do for you," ANI quoted Uttam Saha, Founder Secretary of the Argentina Football Fan Club Kolkata, as saying.
"We are celebrating football from 2002, our idol, who is Lionel Messi. Before him was Maradona (Diego Maradona) ji... we love football very much. Now that Lionel Messi is arriving in India in 2025, we want to welcome him," said Pragnan Saha, Cultural Secretary of the club.
"God made this happen that he is coming to our city, our city of joy," he said.
"I would love to have Messi here and celebrate at least for some time with us, but we do not know whether it's going to happen or not. But again, if that's not going to happen, we do not care, we still will love that man till the very end of time... we will continue to celebrate this man," he added.
70-feet Messi statue
Messi will arrive in Kolkata at 1:30 AM on Saturday and move to a five-star hotel on EM Bypass. Later in the morning, he will attend a sponsor-only ‘meet and greet’.
The event will showcase an Argentine-Indian fusion menu. The spread will feature mate infused with Assam flavours, along with hilsa and a selection of Bengali sweets.
Security concerns have changed his schedule. So, he will now unveil his biggest-ever statue from his hotel through a virtual link. The 70-foot structure was meant for a public event at Sreebhumi. However, the police did not allow it.
Diego Maradona’s visit to Kolkata
Before Messi, Diego Maradona visited Kolkata twice. The Argentine great, who has a massive fan following in Kolkata, had his first visit in 2008 and his second in 2017.
His 2008 trip lasted two days and created huge excitement in the city. Nearly 15,000 fans gathered at the airport at midnight to welcome the God of Football. Maradona called it the second-biggest reception of his life after Naples.
He attended events at Salt Lake Stadium and Mohun Bagan. He showed his ball control skills and joined programmes linked to a proposed football school.
Maradona returned in 2017 for a charity match and a football workshop with schoolchildren in Barasat. Kolkata once again turned up in large numbers.
