How Many Crores Was Messi Paid for His India Tour?

Amidst heavy fanfare and anticipation, football legend Lionel Messi completed his GOAT India Tour 2025. The tour kicked off in Kolkata with the unveiling of a 70-foot statue in his honour. Though it was his first visit to India in more than a decade, the opening event in Kolkata ended up in a disaster as angry fans threw chairs and bottles into the Salt Lake Stadium.

It reflected the poor planning which led to chaos. Satadru Dutta, the main organizer of the event had been arrested for the disaster. During questioning, Dutta revealed that Messi did not like being touched on the back or being hugged and hence left early than scheduled which disappointed the fans as they had bought tickets at a heavy price ranging between Rs 4,366 to Rs 50,000.

In Hyderabad, there was a friendly match between Revanth Reddy 9s and Aparna All-Stars. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also present at the venue. In Mumbai, he attended a padel exhibition at the Cricket Club of India. At Wankhede Stadium, he played a friendly match with Bollywood stars like Jim Sarbh and Ibrahim Ali Khan. He met Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Legendary Cricketer Sachin and More.

In New Delhi, World Cup winner Messi made a public appearance at the packed Arun Jaitley Stadium. He participated in exhibitions and football clinics, interacted with young fans and local players. He received a Team India cricket jersey from ICC Chairman Jay Shah.

During SIT inquiry, Satadru Dutta told SIT officials that Messi was paid a total amount of Rs 100 core for the Tour. Of this, Rs 11 crore has been paid to the Indian government as tax, which means effectively Messi was paid Rs 89 crore for the GOAT India Tour. Dutta also spilled the beans about the source of funding. Nearly 30 per cent came from ticket sales and another 30 per cent from brand endorsements.