Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: One of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi, is a name that arguably resonates with every single football fan across the globe. While European and American (both North and South) fans have had many opportunities to watch the Argentine maestro play, the same hasn’t been the case with Asians. As Indian football fans kept their fingers crossed, organised plans to watch Messi in action during the Argentine’s trip to Kerala, a heartbreaking piece of news dropped on August 7. Kerala’s Sports Minister V Abdurahiman has revealed that Messi and the Argentina national team will no longer be visiting Kerala this year.
The news is truly heartbreaking for millions of football fans in India who have waited their entire lives to watch a player of the calibre of Messi in action live in their own country. However, the dream is not going to be realised anytime soon.
Abdurrahiman had earlier insisted that the Messi-led Argentina side would visit the state as announced by the Government, and that the sponsor had already paid the match fee for the event. He told reporters on Monday that the foreign team informed them that they were facing difficulties in visiting the state in October this year, but the sponsor responded that “we are interested only in a visit in the month of October.”
Abdurahiman had earlier said the team was more likely to come in October or November this year, and that they would be treated as state guests, with their security, accommodation, and other facilities provided by the government.
