The much anticipated friendly football match featuring teams led by football great Lionel Messi and Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy turned into a spectacle on and off the field on Saturday (December 13, 2025) evening. Hours after the stadium horror in Kolkata, Hyderabad roared for Messi in a packed Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
A carnival air prevailed as thousands of fans of Messi waited for nearly four hours, entertained by a laser show, fireworks and flamethrowers. The stadium was packed with an audience estimated at 30,000, with thousands of them wearing the blue and white striped jerseys emblazoned with Messi waited with bated breath as Messi entered the premises of the stadium on schedule at 7.50 p.m.
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The spectators could not have asked for more. “I got goosebumps as Messi kicked the ball in my direction,” said Baipothu Ashwith, a Class X student who spent Rs. 5800 to watch his idol and travelled from Kukatpally.
“It was a dream come true in person. I have been watching Messi for the past 10 years since he won Champions League match with luis Suarez and I was studying B Tech IIIT in Chennai,” said Vamsi Vikas who has a tattoo of his hero on his forearm and travelled from Tellapur to watch the match.
