Smooth End to Lionel Messi's India Tour After Kolkata Chaos

Global football icon Lionel Messi has finished his multi-day India tour in smog-filled Delhi, after a chaotic opening in Kolkata.

On Monday, a multitude of fans congregated in a Delhi stadium to see the Argentinian and Inter Miami striker.

As Messi, alongside Inter Miami colleagues Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, strolled on the pitch – booting balls into the stands, playing with a group of children, and giving signatures – the crowd shouted his name.

His aircraft from Mumbai had been held up due to fog, sources reported, and his schedule had to be cut down. On Saturday, frustrated fans wrecked a Kolkata stadium because they failed to see him during his visit there.

An Intense Itinerary Spanning Multiple Cities

Messi had a busy schedule in India, taking part in a series of marketing events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai since touching down in the pre-dawn of Saturday.

Before making his way to Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium later that day, he digitally presented a 21-meter statue of himself, built over 27 days by a 45-strong crew in the city in eastern India.

Chaotic Beginning in Football-Loving Kolkata

The tour, however, started with a chaotic start after angry fans tore seats and flung items towards the pitch at the stadium.

Football is immensely popular in West Bengal state – of which Kolkata is the capital – and countless devoted supporters had spent up to 12,000 rupees to be at the event.

However, most of them didn't even get to see him as he was surrounded by officials and celebrities on his quick walk around the stadium and then rapidly taken away as the situation became tense.

"Faulty planning of a hyped-up event, poor coordination" and security lapses turned the stadium into a "battlefield", as fans – prevented from seeing of Messi – "expressed their fury by engaging in violence."

The unrest, which captured international headlines, overshadowed Messi's first visit to India since 2011 for what has been dubbed a 'GOAT [greatest of all time] tour'.

The promoter in Kolkata has been arrested, police said, and a city court has remanded Satadru Dutta to 14 days in detention.

Smooth Events in Hyderabad and Mumbai

Messi's appearances in Hyderabad and Mumbai went off without a hitch, with fans showing their happiness at seeing the global icon on social media and in media interviews.

Messi also encountered several political figures and celebrities – Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in Kolkata, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai.

In between these engagements, Messi could be seen acknowledging large fan assemblies in stadiums and dribbling the ball with groups of children.

There were rumors earlier that Messi would meet Narendra Modi in Delhi, but the Indian prime minister traveled abroad on Monday morning on a pre-arranged visit to Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman.

The Source of Messi's Great Popularity in India

Messi's popularity comes not only from his lengthy international career and extensive TV coverage of European football – he's the record scorer for Barcelona – but also the strong affinity that a huge number of Indians have with what is often known as the beautiful game.