How much was Lionel Messi paid to visit India for his GOAT tour?

Rajarshi has been part of Khel Now since 2022, and he covers world football.

Published at :December 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM

Modified at :December 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

The Argentine forward visited four Indian cities.

The primary organiser of the Lionel Messi GOAT India tour event in Kolkata, December 13, Satadru Dutta, who was arrested shortly after, provided investigators with information about the football legend’s trip to India.

Dutta informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), established to investigate the alleged mishandling of the event in the capital of West Bengal, according to PTI.

“Lionel Messi was paid ₹89 crore for the tour, while ₹11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government,” said Dutta.

Event organiser reveals how much it cost to bring Lionel Messi to India

Lionel Messi’s GOAT Kolkata tour — Lionel Messi surrounded by India’s top officials and media at Kolkata event.

This puts the tour’s overall cost at ₹100 crore. According to the study, sponsors provided 30% of the funding, with the remaining 30% coming from ticket sales.

Thousands of fans had bought expensive tickets to the event at Salt Lake Stadium, but the program turned into a disarray as plenty of people gathered around Lionel Messi on the pitch, making him barely visible from the stands. This infuriated the fans, some of whom later vandalised parts of the stadium.

Following the incident, top IPS officials Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar, and Muralidhar established the SIT to look into the vandalism. Additionally, the SIT is looking into access breaches, security lapses, and the involvement of officials and organisers in the incident.

Additionally, according to Satadru Dutta, just 150 ground passes were initially given out for the Lionel Messi event in Kolkata. But when a “very influential person” arrived at the stadium and “overpowered him,” the number tripled, he told the SIT, according to PTI.

Despite the mishandling of his Kolkata event, Messi’s other trips to Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi went well. The Argentina national team captain greeted the fans and also interacted with Indian football stars.

How much Messi was paid during his GOAT tour?

He was paid ₹89 crore to visit India.

How much did it cost in total to bring Messi to India?

The tour’s overall cost was ₹100 crore. It includes taxes paid to the government.

Which cities did Messi visit in India?

He visited Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

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Rajarshi Shukla

After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.