Ajay Devgn meets footballers Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Rodrigo De Paul in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Bollywood star Ajay Devgn met Argentina football star Lionel Messi on Sunday. The football star was joined by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul.

Ajay Devgn met the football stars, who shook hands with him, before he was welcomed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Meanwhile, it was a memorable day for cricket and football fans alike present at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium as Argentina football icon Lionel Messi graced the venue with his presence as a part of his ‘GOAT India Tour’ 2025 and met Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri and the country’s ‘Bharat Ratna’, the cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar.

“Today was a 10/10 day”: Sachin posts following meeting with football icon Messi.

Read @ANI story | https://t.co/cN353WNHip#SachinTendulkar #LionelMessi #Mumbai #cricket pic.twitter.com/rvVR3j7GyY

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) December 14, 2025

The event started off with the anchor hyping up the crowd, and chants of ‘Messi’, ‘Messi’, ‘Messi’ filled the air as they all awaited the arrival of the beloved football legend.

Reputed Indian DJ, DJ Chetas, started off the festivities by playing a set of songs curated for the occasion, with some popular Bollywood and English numbers ringing loud in the stadium, including Ed Sheeran’s ‘Sapphire’ and K’Naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’, the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem and B Praak’s ‘Teri Mitti’.

Following that, a friendly football match took place between Indian Stars and Mitra Stars, with the former featuring actors Tiger Shroff, Jim Sarbh, Indian footballers Nikhil Poojari and Bala Devi. Mitra Stars also featured Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri and his Bengaluru FC teammates Rahul Bheke and Chinglensana Singh Konsham.

Messi and his teammates also spent valuable time on the pitch with girls footballers, who were part of the state’s grassroots football project, ‘Project Mahadeva’. It was a memorable moment for these young players, as they got to pass around the ball with perhaps the greatest footballer at the other end to see them and take the ball.

Messi and his teammates took turns kicking footballs into the crowd, with each kick getting a louder roar than the previous one. Following this, the event concluded with the crowd chanting the names of Sachin and Messi one by one. Delhi will be Messi’s final pit-stop of the ‘GOAT India Tour’ on Monday. (ANI)