Lionel Messi's GOAT India Tour 2025 was completed with a fair degree of success. Yes, the first leg in Kolkata ended in disaster but the events in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi were a huge success. The football legend had extended interactions with kids, celebrities and some elite sports personalities from India.
Messi's tour, organized by reputed event manager Satadru Dutta, was understandably a very costly affair. The Argentine is not only arguably the best player of this generation but also a World Cup winner. While he currently plies his Club trade with Inter Miami in USA, Messi is fully capable of going to any club he wants, even at this age where players think of retirement.
The Kolkata mishap during GOAT India Tour is still under investigation with Dutta being questioned extensively since he was put under arrest on December 13. Dutta told Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials that Messi was paid a total amount of Rs 100 crore for the GOAT India Tour. However, from this, an amount of Rs 11 crore has gone to the Indian government as tax.
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This means that Messi was effectively paid Rs 89 crore for the GOAT India Tour. So, where did this money come from? Given that he is under investigation, Dutta spilled the beans about the source of funding. According to a report published by The Telegraph, 30 percent was obtained from ticket sales while brand endorsements helped in organizing another 30 percent of the funds.
A number of Dutta's bank accounts are frozen during the ongoing SIT investigation. Dutta has told SIT officials that a total of Rs 20 crore is left across those accounts.
