<p>Watching Lionel Messi live is a bucket list experience and many in India ticked it off during the high-profile 'G.O.A.T Tour' across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi recently. </p>.<p>The global football superstar was welcomed with great fanfare, with Argentina, Barcelona and Inter Miami flags being waved as endless shouts of "Messi... Messi" reverberated in the stadiums.</p>.SIT begins probe into vandalism at Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake stadium.<p>People cutting across age-groups were swept and lured by the Messi mania as fans shelled out anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000 to get a glimpse of the World Cup winner in cities that hardly attracted crowds to watch an Indian football games where ticket prices were less than Rs 500 . </p>.<p>While this is not an unusual sight in India given its celebrity culture, it came at a time when its own football ecosystem is crumbling.</p>.<p>Indian men's football team captain Sandesh Jhingan was happy about the country's love for the sport, but felt that the Messi craze highlighted the nation's priority.</p>.<p>“It genuinely makes me happy that our country loves football,” Jhingan wrote on Instagram. “What troubles me and leaves me deeply reflective is that at a time when our own football ecosystem is in jeopardy, arguably facing one of its most difficult phases, we stand on the brink of having no active domestic football ahead of us. It feels as though we are close to shutting everything down because there is no willingness to invest in football within India, yet crores were spent on this tour.”</p>.<p>For the unversed, The All India Football Federation (AIFF) floated a Request For Proposal (RFP) on October 16 for Indian Super League's (ISL) commercial rights, with an annual payment of Rs 37.5 crore to the federation, which went unanswered. And there have been no solutions in sight yet.</p>.<p>India’s steady slide is no mystery. It is result of years of negligence, lack of funding at the grassroots level and a broken talent pipeline. </p>.<p>Dempo FC CEO Pradhyum Reddy felt that the Messi gala had nothing to do with Indian football’s crisis and relating the two was “farfetched.” </p>.<p>“Not many understand the economics and very few know how it works. People need to understand that this is not AIFF, FSDL or Indian football clubs that have diverted their funds to bring Messi to India,” Pradhyum told DH.</p>.<p>“Messi's trip arrangements were done by some private event management person. It's a simple business model. And if someone brings Ronaldo (Cristiano) next, it will work," he added.</p>.<p>Shedding more light on the current situation, Pradhyum questioned the system that paid the players above their market rates which eventually led to an unsustainable model. </p>.<p>“No one is questioning the fact that the players were overpaid, which is a part of why clubs have struggled and the league model has terribly failed. It is not sustainable when people are paid 10 times over their market value."</p>.<p>Many Indian footballers such as Shanmugam Venkatesh and Bhaichung Bhutia have voiced their opinions on the value that comes while playing outside of India. Pradhyum, however, stated that players might not pick those assignments due to its payscale.</p>.<p>“How many of these footballers have said that they are ready to go and play outside of India? In Southeast Asia or somewhere else in the world? Because they will make a lot lesser than what they are getting paid here. And they are not going to take that."</p>.<p>Talking about what needs to be done and if the people who are in power can turn the tables, Pradhyum said: “The entire footballing pyramid needs fixing, from the grassroots to youth-level competitions and from the I-League to the ISL and women’s football. All of them need massive changes and people in charge at the moment are not capable of doing it." </p>
<p>Watching Lionel Messi live is a bucket list experience and many in India ticked it off during the high-profile 'G.O.A.T Tour' across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi recently. </p>.<p>The global football superstar was welcomed with great fanfare, with Argentina, Barcelona and Inter Miami flags being waved as endless shouts of "Messi... Messi" reverberated in the stadiums.</p>.SIT begins probe into vandalism at Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake stadium.<p>People cutting across age-groups were swept and lured by the Messi mania as fans shelled out anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000 to get a glimpse of the World Cup winner in cities that hardly attracted crowds to watch an Indian football games where ticket prices were less than Rs 500 . </p>.<p>While this is not an unusual sight in India given its celebrity culture, it came at a time when its own football ecosystem is crumbling.</p>.<p>Indian men's football team captain Sandesh Jhingan was happy about the country's love for the sport, but felt that the Messi craze highlighted the nation's priority.</p>.<p>“It genuinely makes me happy that our country loves football,” Jhingan wrote on Instagram. “What troubles me and leaves me deeply reflective is that at a time when our own football ecosystem is in jeopardy, arguably facing one of its most difficult phases, we stand on the brink of having no active domestic football ahead of us. It feels as though we are close to shutting everything down because there is no willingness to invest in football within India, yet crores were spent on this tour.”</p>.<p>For the unversed, The All India Football Federation (AIFF) floated a Request For Proposal (RFP) on October 16 for Indian Super League's (ISL) commercial rights, with an annual payment of Rs 37.5 crore to the federation, which went unanswered. And there have been no solutions in sight yet.</p>.<p>India’s steady slide is no mystery. It is result of years of negligence, lack of funding at the grassroots level and a broken talent pipeline. </p>.<p>Dempo FC CEO Pradhyum Reddy felt that the Messi gala had nothing to do with Indian football’s crisis and relating the two was “farfetched.” </p>.<p>“Not many understand the economics and very few know how it works. People need to understand that this is not AIFF, FSDL or Indian football clubs that have diverted their funds to bring Messi to India,” Pradhyum told DH.</p>.<p>“Messi's trip arrangements were done by some private event management person. It's a simple business model. And if someone brings Ronaldo (Cristiano) next, it will work," he added.</p>.<p>Shedding more light on the current situation, Pradhyum questioned the system that paid the players above their market rates which eventually led to an unsustainable model. </p>.<p>“No one is questioning the fact that the players were overpaid, which is a part of why clubs have struggled and the league model has terribly failed. It is not sustainable when people are paid 10 times over their market value."</p>.<p>Many Indian footballers such as Shanmugam Venkatesh and Bhaichung Bhutia have voiced their opinions on the value that comes while playing outside of India. Pradhyum, however, stated that players might not pick those assignments due to its payscale.</p>.<p>“How many of these footballers have said that they are ready to go and play outside of India? In Southeast Asia or somewhere else in the world? Because they will make a lot lesser than what they are getting paid here. And they are not going to take that."</p>.<p>Talking about what needs to be done and if the people who are in power can turn the tables, Pradhyum said: “The entire footballing pyramid needs fixing, from the grassroots to youth-level competitions and from the I-League to the ISL and women’s football. All of them need massive changes and people in charge at the moment are not capable of doing it." </p>