Messi India Tour Cost Revealed: ₹100 Crore, ₹89 Cr to Messi, SIT Probe
Messi India Tour Cost Revealed: ₹100 Crore, ₹89 Cr to Messi, SIT Probe
Organiser details ₹100 crore spend on Messi's India visit, with ₹89 crore paid to Messi and ₹11 crore in taxes, as SIT probes security and management.
Satadru Dutta, the main organiser of Messi's Kolkata event during the GOAT India Tour, has disclosed to investigators that the total expenditure for the visit was ₹100 crore. He claims Messi was paid ₹89 crore, and ₹11 crore went to taxes for the government. The breakdown also shows that 30% of the amount came from sponsors and another 30% was generated through ticket sales.
At Salt Lake Stadium, thousands of spectators crowded the field, making Messi barely visible from the galleries and prompting anger among fans who later vandalised parts of the venue. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the incident is examining security lapses, access violations, and the roles of organisers and officials in the chaos.
Dutta said that initially only 150 ground passes were issued for the Kolkata event, but the number tripled after a so-called very influential person arrived, which disrupted crowd-control plans. He stated the presence of this person influenced the crowd flow and raised questions about oversight.
Messi is reported to have been unhappy about being touched, and security concerns were communicated before the crowd-control failures occurred. He left the event earlier than planned, an outcome that has sparked further scrutiny of how the visit was managed.
With investigations ongoing, authorities are examining how such a large crowd gained access to restricted areas and whether financial and security protocols were properly followed during the event.
