Messi sends signed World Cup jersey for Modi's 75th birthday

Bracing up for his much-anticipated tour of India, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has sent his signed 2022 World Cup victorious jersey to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 75th birthday.

Promoter Satadru Dutta, who is bringing Messi to India, said on Wednesday that the football icon's World Cup jersey will be delivered to the PM in two to three days.

“When I met him in February to discuss the visit, I had told him that the PM's 75th birthday is also coming and he said he would send a signed jersey for the Prime Minister,” Dutta said.

Dutta said he is also trying to arrange a meeting with the PM during Messi's tour of India, which will comprise stopovers at Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi from December 13.

The football-mad city of Kolkata will be the first stop in Messi's whirlwind trip named 'GOAT Tour of India 2025', followed by Mumbai and New Delhi. The visit is scheduled to conclude after a meeting with the Prime Minister at his residence in the national capital on December 15.

This will be the Argentine great's first trip to India since 2011 when he visited the country with his national team to play a FIFA friendly against Venezuela, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Dutta had met Messi's father earlier this year to present the proposal, and on February 28, Messi himself met him at his residence for a 45-minute discussion.

A host of programmes are lined up during his stay in the country.

Last month, Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman also confirmed that the Argentina football team, along with star player Messi, will arrive in Kerala to play a friendly match in November this year.

Abdurahiman was speaking to reporters in Kerala following the Argentina Football Association's (AFA) announcement that their national team, led by manager Lionel Scaloni, would play friendly matches in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala.