'Messi was lost among VIPs': Inside meltdown of the Messi event in Kolkata
Times of India | 14 December 2025
KOLKATA: The much-hyped Messi show, which descended into utter chaos after the football star stepped out of the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday, left the fans not just disappointed, but in some cases feeling completely despondent.
Most of them were left searching for answers as to why their dream show, for which they had paid through their nose, had to turn into a disaster. Messi was laughing, smiling, waving, obliging selfie-hunters till his entourage decided they had had enough.
And they had a reason. Every step of Messi was an effort in itself as hundred-odd people surrounded him throughout, some coming too close for comfort. That also blocked the view of the 60,000-odd paying fans who had shelled out anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 16,000 to be there just for a glimpse of the superstar. Patience in the stands was already running thin and the bubble burst just after Messi exited.
"When you buy a ticket worth Rs 16,000, you expect to get at least a clear view of Messi. We have been scammed," Soumyadeep Ghosh of Kalighat said, holding half of his torn hospitality ticket. Many of the sandwiches in the hospitality packets were used as missiles as the fans vented their anger. One of his friends, a delivery boy, had saved up for this day after buying a Rs 9,000-worth ticket. Delhi-based student Shaban had shelled out Rs 11,000. "In Delhi, it was costlier. So I decided to come home to Ranchi and attend the Messi show here."
Fans were not allowed to carry water inside either, but plastic bottles were being sold at a premium. "I bought this for Rs 200," a fan chucked away a bottle that would normally cost Rs 20. Many of these landed inside the ground.
As varied emotions flowed, the question was what compelled Messi to abort the show for fans he himself had termed as passionate. The answer perhaps lies in the selfie-hunters. There were just too many people in the middle of the Salt lake stadium who were looking to get a picture clicked with him, get him to sign their jersey and even let them touch his feet. Just too many people, and that included the security personnel who had been tasked with the job of ensuring that no one got close to him.
But, how do you ensure that when the selfie-hunters are themselves bigshots who do not take a no? What do you tell a top football official, who wants his shirt signed by Messi? How do you stop the Argentina-jersey wearing son of an official, who has no business being there, but wants a picture with the legend?
Satadru Dutta, the sole organiser of the Messi G.O.A.T India Tour, kept on asking people to vacate the ground. But the question is, why did he allow them to be there in the first place? How can you eject people whom you yourself have invited by handing out a plethora of inside-the-ground accreditation cards. "What were the politicians doing inside the ground," Subhasish Dutta of Narayanpur asked.
And finally, did the organiser put too much on Messi's platter? In his quest to pick up as much sponsorship as possible and also please the powers that be, Dutta perhaps piled up too many events on the superstar's shoulders and it would have been a miracle if he had managed to pull it off without a glitch.