Lionel Messi's G.O.A.T India Tour 2025 made headlines for days as the Argentine soccer icon toured different cities. Although his Kolkata pitstop faced quite a bit of trouble as Messi had to be escorted out within 20 minutes and angry fans were outraged and broke seats and damaged the stadium.
Satadru Dutta, the primary organiser of Lionel Messi’s event held on December 13, who has since been arrested in Kolkata, has told investigators that Messi was uncomfortable with being touched or hugged during his appearance at Salt Lake Stadium, according to a source in the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
During extended questioning, Dutta reportedly revealed that Messi did not appreciate being patted on the back or embraced, and that this sensitivity had been communicated beforehand by the foreign security personnel assigned to protect the footballer. The source added that Messi left the venue earlier than planned instead of staying for the full duration of the scheduled programme.
"Despite repeated public announcements to restrain the crowd, there was no impact. The manner in which Messi was surrounded and embraced was completely unacceptable to the World Cup-winning footballer," Dutta told investigators during his grilling on Friday, the source said.
Amid growing criticism, West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas stepped down from his position as sports minister until the investigation is completed.
Authorities are also investigating how such a large number of people were allowed access to the ground area. Dutta has claimed that only 150 ground passes were originally issued, but that number was later tripled after a “very influential person” arrived at the stadium and allegedly overruled him. Police are now examining whether the increase in access played a direct role in the failure of crowd management.
"The arrested accused also claimed that once that particular influential person reached the stadium, all the flow-chart for the Messi programme got disturbed and he could not control it," the official told PTI.
How much was Messi paid for the G.O.A.T India Tour 2025?
The official has also revealed thtat Lionel Messi was paid Rs 89 crore for the tour, while Rs 11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government, which chalks up the the total expenditure at Rs 100 crore. Of this amount, 30 per cent was sourced from sponsors, while another 30 per cent was generated through ticket sales, sources said.
Thousands of fans had paid premium prices to attend the event at Salt Lake Stadium, but the programme spiralled into disorder when a large crowd gathered around Lionel Messi on the field. This left the football star barely visible to spectators in the stands and sparked anger among attendees, with some later damaging parts of the stadium.
In response, the West Bengal government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) made up of senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar to probe the vandalism linked to Messi’s appearance. The SIT is also examining security failures, unauthorised access, and the roles played by organisers and officials in the incident.
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