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The day Mumbai was Messi-merised

After a chaotic start to the Argentina legend's G.O.A.T tour, Wankhede rose to the occasion to greet Lionel Messi, and the soccer star returned the favour

By Mexy Xavier , Kathakali Chanda
Dec 15, 2025, 17:23 IST1 min
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Argentina captain and football legend Lionel Messi (centre, waving his hand) with his Inter Miami colleagues Luis Suárez (in green T shirt) and Rodrigo De Paul (in a cap) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during Messi’s G.O.A.T Tour on Sunday; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Packed to capacity, fans came from all corners of the city and beyond; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Wankhede, home to the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and also witness to a number of historic cricket matches for Team India, was draped in a different blue to celebrate Messi; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Banners, Tshirts, jerseys, scarves, fans had it all to welcome their hero; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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The entire stadium was on its feet to greet Messi, as he went around waving at fans; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Former captain Sunil Chhetri and India’s most prolific international goalscorer greets a young fan on the ground; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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National player Bala Devi (extreme left) and JSW’s Parth Jindal (third from left) go hard for the ball during a celebrity exhibition match ahead of Messi’s arrival; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Messi (right), accompanied by De Paul, waves at the crowd during a round of the stadium; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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Messi with young players from Project Maha-Deva, a grassroots football initiative launched by the state government to identify 60 talented under-13 footballers from Maharashtra; Photo by Mexy Xavier
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210 international goals between them: Messi interacts with Indian talisman Chhetri at the Wankhede. Photo by Ayush Kumar/Getty Images
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