Statue unveiling Lionel Messi's visit to Kolkata featured the unveiling of a statue honoring his football career. On 13 December 2025, a 70-foot (21-metre) statue of Messi was unveiled at the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club in
Lake Town, Kolkata, depicting Messi holding a
FIFA World Cup trophy. Messi, along with
Bollywood's
Shah Rukh Khan attended the event from the stadium. The ceremony marked the start of the tour.
Opening event The opening event of the tour took place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 13 December 2025. Thousands of fans gathered to see Messi, many of whom had purchased tickets at prices ranging up to ₹10,000 or more. Messi's planned appearance included a walk around the pitch and interactions with supporters. Messi arrived at the stadium at around 11:15 AM (IST) along with his teammates
Luis Suárez and
Rodrigo De Paul, but he was almost immediately swarmed by politicians, celebrities, photographers, and officials, causing a delay. Soon, the public who were present in the stadium became frustrated, and some began vandalizing the stadium via ripping up the stadium's seats and throwing them onto the pitch, along with bottles and banners. Despite early intervention by local police, all chairs and banners were broken, as well as other equipment within the stadium. The event was ultimately cut short when Messi's lap and planned activities were abruptly reduced to around 20 minutes due to security concerns and organizational mismanagement. Many fans complained that they were unable to see Messi properly because of crowd congestion, celebrities and their entourages trying to override access with their own security details, led to rising frustration among ticket holders, which also included more restrictive areas than most events.
Crowd unrest Following Messi's early departure, chaos erupted inside the stadium as the crowd protested. Fans reacted by ripping up seats, throwing water bottles and chairs, and
invading portions of the pitch. Police used mild force to control the unrest and restore order.
Aftermath Satadru Dutta, the chief organiser of the event, was detained by
Kolkata police in connection with the mismanagement and ensuing unrest, and sent to 14 days in custody. The custody was then extended to 9 January 2026 on the 28th of December due to multiple additional charges being introduced by public prosecutors. Authorities announced plans to investigate the circumstances around the planning and execution of the event.
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee publicly apologized to Messi and fans for the incident and ordered a detailed inquiry to assess responsibility and prevent similar failures at future events. During the financial investigation, it was revealed that approximately ₹19 crore (approx. $2.10 million USD) was collected from ticket sales alone. Authorities have frozen over ₹20 crore (approx. $2.22 million USD) in Dutta’s bank accounts. There are also allegations of corruption regarding food and beverage contracts, where Dutta received ₹60 lakh, but the actual food and beverage contract was of just ₹40 lakh. == Hyderabad ==