Sunil Chhetri has played long enough, seen enough, and carried Indian football on his shoulders for years. Yet, when Lionel Messi stood in front of him at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, the former Indian captain allowed himself to be just a fan.Chhetri shared his emotions in an Instagram post on Monday, a day after meeting the Argentine footballer during Messi’s GOAT India Tour event in Mumbai the previous day.
As part of the GOAT India Tour, Messi, along with Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, was present at the Wankhede Stadium on December 14. During the event, Messi presented Chhetri with a signed Argentina jersey. The program ended with Sachin Tendulkar gifting Messi an Indian cricket team jersey, followed by photographs featuring Tendulkar, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Messi and his teammates.Chhetri took to Instagram and shared a post featuring the Argentine legend Messi, who was presenting the Argentina jersey.“The build-up was filled with little fights, and in a rare win, Sunil Chhetri the fan beat Sunil Chhetri the pro, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’ve been nursing an injury that’s restricted me to a hobble and unnecessary to say, I don’t like being around even myself when I’m spending more time on the physio’s table than the pitch,” Chhetri wrote.He thanked Messi, De Paul and Suarez, and also expressed gratitude to Mumbai for the reception he received.“I almost didn’t make the trip to Mumbai, till the fan in me rebelled and went anyway. Turned out, meeting the man who makes me very happy, and whose art is my antidote for all the times I am sad, was exactly what I needed. To be able to express my gratitude to Leomessi in person for everything that he has done for our sport, felt like both – a dream and a duty,” the post said.“It was lovely to meet another World Cup winner in Rodrigo De Paul, and then there was the child-like excitement to share the frame with arguably the most complete No.9 of our generation – Luis Suarez. And Mumbai, you absolute beauty, thank you for making me feel so loved. I do not take it for granted,” the post read.Meanwhile, in the last leg of his tour Messi visited Delhi on Monday, and met ICC chairman Jay Shah, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and DDCA president Rohan Jaitley at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Shah presented Indian cricket team jerseys to Messi, Suarez and De Paul.Messi also received an autographed cricket bat from Shah, marking an exchange between football and cricket during the final leg of the tour.
