Excitement turned into chaos when Lionel Messi's much anticipated visit to India left thousands of fans feeling disappointed at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium.
What was meant to be a dream moment for Messi's fans–something they had been eagerly waiting for and even paid up to £100 ($133) to witness their favourite football star– turned into frustration and anger when Messi was only briefly visible and mostly blocked by officials and celebrities, prompting some supporters to damage seats and throw objects onto the pitch.
Messi is in India for his promotional "GOAT tour," visiting cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
The tour kicked off with the unveiling of a 70-foot statue in Kolkata which took 27 days to built with a team of 45 people in Kolkata.
The statue is claimed to be the tallest statue of any footballer in the world.
Since the unveiling was done virtually for security reasons, thousand of fans went to the stadium hoping to see Messi in person.
The fans were cheering, buying Messi merchandise and wearing “I love Messi” headbands.
Messi waved to the crowd at first but his visit ended abruptly when some angry fans stormed the field, damaged banners and tents and threw chairs and water bottles in frustration.
However, disappointed fans can still visit "Hola Messi" fan zone, where they can see a life-sized replica of Messi on a throne, a hall displaying some of his trophies and a replica of his Miami home with mannequins of Messi and his family sitting on a balcony.
