KOLKATA
\nLionel Messi will unveil a 21-metre (70-foot) statue of himself in India on Saturday as he embarks on a three-day tour of the country that has sparked a fan frenzy.
\nThe iron sculpture in Kolkata, which shows Messi holding aloft the World Cup, is part of a so-called GOAT Tour that will take in four Indian cities and a possible meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
\nThe 38-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami superstar will unveil the monument virtually rather than in person for security reasons.
\nA \u201cHola Messi\u201d fan zone has also been set up in Kolkata where on display is a life-sized replica of Messi sat on a throne.
\nThe hall also recreates his Miami home, complete with mannequins of his family members.
\nFootball fan Samir Nandy said it would be \u201ca dream come true\u201d to catch a glimpse of his idol.
\n\u201cLegends are not made by success alone. It is his resilience that made me believe in him,\u201d Nandy, 64, said in Kolkata.
\n\u201cThe statue is a fitting tribute to him.\u201d
\nMonty Paul, the statue\u2019s main sculptor, told AFP the structure was built inside 40 days.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a matter of pride to build the sculpture of Messi. It\u2019s the tallest statue I have made,\u201d he said.
\nThe eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner will also meet Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and former India cricket captain Saurav Ganguly during his whirlwind trip to Kolkata.
\nAhead of his arrival, Messi said it was an honour to visit India and interact with the fans.
\n\u201cIndia is a very special country and I have good memories from my time there 14 years ago \u2014 the fans were fantastic,\u201d Messi said in an official statement.
\n\u201cIndia is a passionate football nation and I look forward to meeting a new generation of fans while sharing the love I have for this beautiful game.\u201d
\nAfter Kolkata, where Messi will play a short friendly match, he will head to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
\nIn Hyderabad he will attend a concert in his honour and play another friendly.
\nHe is reportedly scheduled to meet Modi in the capital.
\nMessi won his second consecutive Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award this week after propelling Inter Miami to the MLS title and leading the league in goals.
\nThe former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain attacker will spearhead Argentina\u2019s defence of the World Cup in June-July in North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KOLKATA Lionel Messi will unveil a 21-metre (70-foot) statue of himself in India on Saturday as he embarks on a three-day tour of the country that has sparked a fan frenzy. The iron sculpture in Kolkata, which shows Messi holding aloft the World Cup, is part of a so-called GOAT Tour that will take in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90948,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90935\/revisions\/90948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}