De Paul, Suarez to join Messi's four-city India tour

Kolkata: The much-anticipated 'GOAT Tour to India 2025' got bigger on Friday with World Cup winner Rodrigo De Paul and Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez confirming their participation alongside Lionel Messi.

"Game Set Match... So it's now confirmed and official. World Cup winner Argentine superstar Rodrigo De Paul and Uruguayan and Barcelona legend Luis Suárez will join Messi for the 'GOAT Tour to India 2025' Vamos," posted organiser Satadru Dutta on social media.

De Paul, a key member of Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning side, is known for his tireless midfield play and close partnership with Messi on and off the pitch. The 30-year-old currently plays for Atlético Madrid in Spain’s La Liga.

Suarez, one of the most prolific strikers of his generation, is a former Barcelona and Liverpool star with over 500 career goals.

The Uruguayan marksman shared a famous attacking partnership with Messi and Neymar during his six-year stint at Barcelona, winning four La Liga titles and the 2015 UEFA Champions League.

Messi had earlier confirmed his participation in the India tour, calling it an "honour" to revisit the "passionate football nation" where he last visited in 2011 with his team Argentina in a friendly match against Venezuela.

The Argentine icon will begin his four-city tour in Kolkata on December 13 before travelling to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, concluding with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 15.

The tour will feature concerts, meet-and-greet sessions, football masterclasses and padel exhibitions, with the main event -- the ‘GOAT Cup’ -- scheduled at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium on December 13, followed by at Wankhede, Mumbai (Dec 14) and Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi (Dec 15).

Tickets status

Tickets have been selling briskly, and for the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, all 28,000 available tickets (priced from Rs 6,980) have been sold out, as per the ticketing website district.in In Kolkata, 46,000 of the 68,000 tickets have already been sold, with prices starting at Rs 4,366.

At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which has a 28,000 capacity, tickets are priced from Rs 7,670 onwards.