Mumbai: The best was reserved for the Mumbai leg of Lionel Messi’s GOAT tour of India.
On a memorable evening at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday, after a packed audience had enjoyed every minute of their date with Lionel Messi, cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar was called to the centrestage to meet football’s God. And it made for the most iconic moment.
The crowd, chanting ‘Sachin, Sachin’ and ‘Messi, Messi’, erupted as Tendulkar presented his No. 10 2011 World Cup-winning Team India jersey to Messi. The Argentine megastar reciprocated the gesture by presenting Tendulkar a football.
After watching the events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
It was clear that while Messi met many celebrities, he seemed to ignore most of them. but when he met Sachin Tendulkar, the respect was unmistakable.
A true GOAT recognizing another GOAT 🐐pic.twitter.com/QVJVstLkFQ
— GillTheWill (@GillTheWill77) December 14, 2025
The Kolkata programme was a disaster on Saturday, the Hyderabad leg went off smoothly, and Mumbai was a superhit.
The event featured exhibition matches, jersey exchanges and a penalty shootout competition that involved Messi also.
Walking into the stadium – along with Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suarez — to thunderous applause, Messi sent fans into a frenzy as he walked around the ground and kicked footballs into the stands.
— Ankan Ghosh (@AnkanGhosh29) December 14, 2025
Tendulkar reflected on his memories at Wankhede Stadium and highlighted the impact Messi’s presence could have on young athletes.
“I have spent some incredible moments here. As we say, Mumbai is a city of dreams, and many dreams have reached their destination at this very venue. Without your support, we would never have witnessed those golden moments here in 2011,” Tendulkar told the crowd.
“Today, having all three of them (Messi, Suarez, De Paul) here is a golden moment for Mumbai, for Mumbaikars, and for India. The way you have welcomed these greats has been truly remarkable. When it comes to Leo, what more can one say? He has achieved everything. We admire his dedication, determination, commitment, and above all, his humility. He is loved not just for his talent, but for the person he is.”
“On behalf of all Mumbaikars and Indians, I wish him and his family the very best of health and happiness. Thank you all once again for being here and for encouraging our youngsters. I hope football in India reaches the heights we all aspire to,” Tendulkar said.
TWITTER HAS CHANGED THE LIKE BUTTON, AFTER MESSI CAME TO INDIA.
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#MessiInMumbai #Wankhede #SunilChhetri #Messi𓃵 #LionelMessi Sachin Tendulkar Wankhede stadium pic.twitter.com/cXrXPHAYrT
— Yash 👑 (@SANDEEPMH07) December 14, 2025
Towards the end of the programme, Messi held up the Indian Tricolour as Suarez held the Argentine flag of blue and white.
India’s own football great Sunil Chhetri, the country’s top scorer with 95 international goals, interacted with Messi, as did Bollywood stars like Tiger Shroff and Ajay Devgn, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, who faced some boos too.
Messi will fly out to New Delhi on Monday, where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend another event at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
