Messi's Mumbai visit: Maharashtra CM hails city's 'GOAT' crowd
What's the story
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has praised Mumbai for its disciplined and respectful crowd during the G.O.A.T Tour event at Wankhede Stadium on December 14. The event, which featured football legend Lionel Messi, Indian football star Sunil Chhetri, and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, was a huge success. Unlike the earlier event in Kolkata that was marred by vandalism and chaos, Mumbai's audience remained calm and respectful throughout.
Event highlights
Messi's memorable interactions with fans in Mumbai
During the Mumbai event, Messi interacted with children, played a few passes, participated in a penalty shootout, and exchanged jerseys with Chhetri and Tendulkar. However, Fadnavis faced some backlash from a section of the crowd when he announced Project Mahadev to promote football across India. His announcement was met with mixed reactions from the crowd, who booed him before he calmed them down by chanting "Ganapati Bappa," which was met with a response of "Morya" from the crowd.
Tour update
Messi's India tour continues despite Kolkata chaos
Messi's India tour continues with an event at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. This comes after the Kolkata event was marred by chaos when fans broke barricades and vandalized seats in frustration over not seeing Messi. The chief organizer of the tour, Satadru Dutta, was arrested on charges of negligence for poor crowd management during that incident.
Twitter Post
Social media post sharing images from Messi's Mumbai event
Only Messi can do this 😳🔥
— PRAVEEN SRIVASTAVA (@pkspks2911) December 14, 2025
Twitter changed the LIKE button right after he arrived in Mumbai 🇮🇳
Tap and feel the *Messi Magic* 🩵⚽ #MessiInMumbai #Wankhede #Messi𓃵 #LionelMessi #SunilChhetri #SachinTendulkar#WankhedeStaduim #MessiInIndia pic.twitter.com/LxN5vz7c4v