{"id":191242,"date":"2025-12-14T11:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T11:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/191242\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T11:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T11:08:14","slug":"city-of-joy-statue-of-goat-lionel-messi-unveils-monumental-70-foot-statue-in-kolkata-watch-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/191242\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Joy, Statue of GOAT: Lionel Messi Unveils Monumental 70-Foot Statue In Kolkata | WATCH | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:December 13, 2025, 11:26 IST<\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi virtually unveiled his 70-foot statue at Sree Bhumi Sporting Club in Kolkata, joined by Luis Su\u00e1rez and Rodrigo De Paul, marking his first India visit since 2011.<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"(Credit: X)\" title=\"(Credit: X)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765710494_439_1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-ee90caf6118df965 jsx-3019269553\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Credit: X)<\/p>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">It\u2019s official. Lionel Messi now towers over Kolkata \u2014 quite literally.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">The Argentine icon on Saturday unveiled a jaw-dropping 70-foot statue of himself in the City of Joy, cementing his larger-than-life status in one of football\u2019s most passionate corners of the world.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\">Messi, joined by Inter Miami teammates Luis Su\u00e1rez and Rodrigo De Paul, virtually unveiled the statue from the Hyatt Regency in Kolkata, as fans across the city celebrated the moment with unmistakable fervour.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#WATCH<\/a> | Kolkata, West Bengal: Star footballer Lionel Messi virtually unveils his 70-foot statue installed at the Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town during the first leg of his G.O.A.T. Tour India 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dYFPW7KsBg\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/dYFPW7KsBg<\/a>\u2014 ANI (@ANI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ANI\/status\/1999712243324486041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">December 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">A Giant Tribute to a World Champion<\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\">Installed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town in South Dum Dum, the colossal iron structure depicts Messi holding the FIFA World Cup trophy \u2014 a nod to his crowning moment with Argentina in Qatar.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5\" class=\"story_para_5\">The statue has already become a magnet for football lovers, drawing crowds eager to witness a tribute few global stars can claim outside their home country.<\/p>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\">West Bengal Minister and Sree Bhumi Sporting Club president Sujit Bose confirmed that Messi had personally approved the project.<\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\">\u201cWe have talked to his manager, and today we will talk to Messi\u2026 He gave his consent for the statue and they are also happy,&#8221; Bose told ANI.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8\" class=\"story_para_8\">Kolkata Rolls Out the Red Carpet<\/p>\n<p id=\"9\" class=\"story_para_9\">Messi arrived in Kolkata early Saturday morning, and the city responded in style. Thousands of fans gathered at hotels, streets and landmarks, hoping for a glimpse of the man they\u2019ve adored from afar for years.<\/p>\n<p id=\"10\" class=\"story_para_10\">A Long-Awaited Return<\/p>\n<p id=\"11\" class=\"story_para_11\">This visit marks Messi\u2019s first trip to India since 2011, when he played at the Salt Lake Stadium, helping Argentina edge Venezuela 1\u20130 in a friendly.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/google-color.svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"36\" alt=\"\" class=\"jsx-ff4fe2ed9527ebb3\"\/>Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. First Published:<\/p>\n<p>December 13, 2025, 11:26 IST<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/sports\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sports<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/sports\/football\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">football<\/a>   City of Joy, Statue of GOAT: Lionel Messi Unveils Monumental 70-Foot Statue In Kolkata | WATCHDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Read More<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:December 13, 2025, 11:26 IST Lionel Messi virtually unveiled his 70-foot statue at Sree Bhumi Sporting Club&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60,102715,102710,102709,102716,102713,102711,102714,102712],"class_list":{"0":"post-191242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-kolkata-football-fans","17":"tag-lionel-messi-kolkata","18":"tag-lionel-messi-statue-kolkata","19":"tag-messi-goat-tour","20":"tag-messi-india-visit","21":"tag-messi-statue-unveiling","22":"tag-messi-world-cup-statue","23":"tag-sree-bhumi-sporting-club"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}