Legendary footballer Lionel Messi arrived in Mumbai today for the third leg of the GOAT India Tour 2025 after his stint in Hyderabad. As he prepares to take part in the Padel GOAT Cup at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium), let’s find out why the Argentinian footballer won’t play a full match in India.
The event at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai is scheduled to begin around 4:30 PM, marking the start of his Mumbai tour. The iconic footballer, who plays for Argentina and Major Soccer League (MLS) club Inter Miami, has no scheduled matches in India and the reason why will take your breath away.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning captain has signed one of the most expensive sports insurance policies in the world, providing the superstar footballer with health insurance of up to $900 million. While the Argentine national team captain’s health insurance protects him against financial damages due to career-threatening injuries, it does not cover injuries sustained during matches not for his country or club. In particular, insurance does not cover exhibition matches. If a player is injured in such a match, he risks losing millions of dollars in compensation.
The FIFS director explains the “insurance” factor.
Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) CEO Joy Bhattacharjya said in a Facebook post: “One thing all football fans must understand if they were expecting to watch Messi play in India. No top international football star can play any kind of even a semi-serious game unless it’s for a country or a club.”
The first Indian head of production of ESPN Star Sports in India added: “This is because they are insured against injuries for millions of dollars for country or club matches, but their insurance does not cover other matches.”
The director of the FIFA U-17 World Cup suggested that the policy does not cover injuries sustained during casual matches, further commenting: “So if they get injured in any exhibition or casual matches, they will lose tens of millions in compensation. It’s a risk none of them can afford to take.”
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) manager explained the ‘insurance’ factor, referring to basketball legend Michael Jordan who got a ‘Love of the Game’ clause in his contract with the Chicago Bulls. This clause guarantees the provision of medical expenses in case of injury while he is not playing for the Chicago Bulls. However, Messi’s insurance policy contains no such clause.
The CEO of Prime Volleyball League said: “There’s an interesting story about it. Michael Jordan got a unique ‘love of the game’ clause in his contract because he enjoyed playing pick-up games and played them as hard as the NBA Finals. So his insurance covered all the games. But I don’t think Messi or any current star has that in their contracts.”
