&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Messi to meet Olympians, cricket stars on Delhi visit; VIPs willing to pay INR 1 crore for handshake | Details inside")
Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour is in its final leg, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or visiting the capital city of New Delhi on Monday (Dec 15). Alongside his entourage, which includes a few Inter Miami players and close friends like Luis Suarez, Messi would arrive in Delhi at 10:45 AM, heading straight to the Leela Palace at Chanakyapuri, where an entire floor is reserved exclusively for them. Putting up in the hotel’s Presidential Suits, each reportedly priced between INR 3.5 lakh and INR 7 lakh per night, Messi would have selected VIPs and corporate guests scheduled to meet and greet him behind closed doors.
Following what unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Messi’s first day in India, where chaos broke out, security has been tightened for the World Cup winner in and around his hotel and at places he is scheduled to visit on Monday.
Meanwhile, an NDTV report states that several VIPs are willingly spending INR 1 crore for the opportunity to meet the global football icon, indicating Messi’s craze among his Indian fans.
Who is Messi meeting in Delhi?
Messi visited Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai on his first two days, meeting several A-listers, including politicians, Bollywood stars, footballers, and also former cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and his family, among others.
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Next, Messi's Delhi visit includes interactions with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), several parliamentarians, and a few sporting heroes, including cricketers, Olympic and Paralympic medal winners.
The Argentine superstar is then scheduled to visit the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where a football clinic is planned, including interactions with handpicked Indian cricketers. Messi will then travel to Purana Quila for a special event hosted by Adidas, where he will meet former India cricket captain Rohit Sharma, Paralympic javelin gold medalist Sumit Antil, world champion Nikhat Zareen and Olympic high-jumper Nishad Kumar.
Messi would depart for the airport at around 6:15 PM and leave India at 8 PM, bringing curtains to his second India tour, filled with handshakes, photographs, memories and also controversies.
