Messi’s India tour reel gives Salt Lake stadium a miss

Kolkata: Lionel Messi on Wednesday shared a one-minute Instagram video recapping his recent India tour, but the Kolkata leg appears for barely four seconds, three of which are devoted to the unveiling of his 70-foot statue at Lake Town. There is no footage from the Salt Lake stadium.The rest of the video focuses largely on Messi's appearances in Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai, interspersed with moments of him meeting Indian sporting and entertainment icons, most notably cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and actor Kareena Kapoor. From Kolkata, industrialist Sanjeev Goenka is the only one to feature, while several political figures and celebrities Messi met during the tour do not.Even in the accompanying caption, Kolkata is mentioned last among the cities visited, despite being the starting point of the tour. "Namaste India! What incredible visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata," Messi wrote, thanking fans for the hospitality and expressing hope for football's future in India. Messi is the world's second most-followed footballer on Instagram after Cristiano Ronaldo, commanding a massive global audience, making the omissions all the more noticeable. "Had Messi not faced such trouble at the stadium, I guess Kolkata may have also featured prominently in his post," said Gourab Dutta, a Messi fan.