Messi mesmerises Hyderabad, GOAT Tour 2nd leg goes off smoothly

Lionel Messi's programme in Hyderabad was in stark contrast to the mayhem in Kolkata as the second leg of the GOAT India Tour ended on a positive note thanks to thorough preparations, sound planning, and discipline. The City of Nizams showed how to pull off an event of this magnitude after Messi's visit to the City of Joy descended into chaos due to poor crowd management and security lapses earlier on Saturday. The celebrated Argentine footballer mesmerised the Hyderabad crowd at a nearly-packed Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium as he showed off some of the skills that made him one of the greatest ever to play the sport.

Not just football, pure emotion. Messi’s waves to fans show some football skills and warmth with kids, young footballers made Uppal Stadium unforgettable. This is why he’s the GOAT. Hyderabad messi fans got everything they wished for pic.twitter.com/QV7PgiKKkS

— Pikachu (@11eleven_4us) December 13, 2025

Messi arrived in the city around 5:40m after a chaotic opening leg of his three-day four-city GOAT Tour 2025 in Kolkata and he was received at the Taj Falaknuma Palace by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Sporting a green colour crew neck half sleeve T-shirt, a black pant and a pair of sport shoes, the World Cup-winning Argentine captain entered the stadium to a deafening cheer of the crowd.