Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has confirmed his presence at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 13 alongside Argentina’s World Cup winner Lionel Messi in Kolkata. Messi will be on a three-day tour of India that will cover four cities, the first of which will be Kolkata. He will then travel to Hyderabad and then visit Mumbai. Messi will end his tour of India with a likely meeting with the prime minister in Delhi on December 15.
In X’s post, Shah Rukh wrote, “This time I didn’t plan my Knight in Calcutta… and was hoping that the Ride day would be all ‘Messi’. See you on the 13th at the Salt Lake Stadium.”
Notably, Shah Rukh is also the co-owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). This is Messi’s second visit to India. The last time Messi landed in the City of Joy was in 2010 when he led Argentina to a 1-0 win over Venezuela in a FIFA international friendly.
Both Messi and Shah Rukh have huge fan followings in Kolkata. Shah Rukh’s visit to Kolkata will be icing on the cake for fans in the City of Joy.
When will Lionel Messi land in Kolkata?
According to sources, Messi will be landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on December 12 at 11:55 PM. The next day, Messi is expected to arrive at the Salt Lake Stadium around 11:30 a.m. before departing for Hyderabad that afternoon.
Messi is also expected to unveil his 70-foot statue, which has been placed next to the clock tower in Sribhumi (Lake City), in honor of the former Barcelona superstar. However, it is understood that Messi will unveil his statue virtually for security reasons.
During his visit to Kolkata, Messi is also scheduled to meet former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Lionel Messi and Argentina’s visit to Kerala has been postponed
Earlier, Messi and his Argentina team were supposed to visit Kerala for a FIFA international friendly match, it was postponed. Argentina, led by Messi, were scheduled to play against Australia at the Jawaharlal Nehru International in Kochi on November 17.
Argentina’s Kerala were part of their provisional November itinerary of friendly matches during the FIFA window this year. Representatives of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) visited Kochi and inspected the venue in September.
According to the sponsor of the event, the international friendly between Argentina and Australia has been postponed due to delays in obtaining permission from FIFA. They also added that the match will be rescheduled during the next FIFA international window.
