Lionel Messi is expected to land in India in the next couple of hours for a first of its kind 3 day multi-city sport promotion tour to take place across the country. To commemorate the return of Argentina’s most recent world cup winning captain to the birthplace of Indian football, a massive 70 foot statue of Messi has been erected by the citizens of Kolkata.
Built by renowned local sculptor Monti Paul with a 45-member team, the massive structure now towers over VIP Road greeting visitors and tourists who come to visit the city’s famous clock tower. Set to be unveiled by Messi himself during his Kolkata stop, the statue depicts the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner holding an eight foot replica of the World cup, that in itself is larger than Messi.
Following his arrival in Kolkata tomorrow, Messi is expected to do a virtual inauguration of his statue at around 10:30 AM tomorrow. The statue was the result of a major logistical effort by local artisans and officials, with 20 tonnes of iron rod used to reinforce the legs of the colossal fibreglass figure.
Messi India GOAT tour: Logistical issues
Speaking to the Telegraph Monti Paul the sculptor behind the statue described the process of assembling the statue at VIP road to be quite troublesome. “It took us the entire day of December 5 to transport the statue to its earmarked location,” Paul told the Telegraph.
Expanding on the challenges, Paul said that the workers had to obtain permits from the city government to get a crane and cut cable lines across streets to be able to transport the gigantic structure to VIP road.
“We needed a crane as well as a trolley truck to haul it along the narrow alley. But first we needed to coordinate with the municipal city body for the region as the overhead cables in the narrow alley between the construction garage and VIP road also had to be snapped for the crane to pass,” Paul explained.
Messi India GOAT tour: Tour schedule and troll attack
Ahead of the Argentine legend’s visit several netizens took to the internet to make fun of the newly erected statue. Fans claimed that the facial features of the statue make Messi look more Indian than Argentinian.
“Is this the tamil version of Messi,Presenting: Messi by Meesho, Leo Messi? No, no, no…. This is Lasith Manish,” fans rained down on social media platforms like Instagram and twitter with several puns.
Post the inauguration of the statue on VIP road, Messi will proceed to the Salt Lake stadium, the same venue where he played his last game in India for a grand welcome that will include a music concert and facilitation ceremonies. At the stadium, Messi is also expected to feature in an 7 x 7 exhibition match with Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly and John Abraham who will be joined by young football players from the state.
Following the Kolkata leg of his tour, Messi will travel to Hyderabad on the same day for an exhibition match with the state CM.