Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday thanked football legend Lionel Messi and his teammates, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, for the GOAT India tour event in Hyderabad.
“I wholeheartedly thank G.O.A.T Lionel Messi football greats Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, for accepting our invitation and gracing our city of Hyderabad and enthralling all our sports lovers especially youth,” Chief Minister poster on ‘X’.
CM Revanth Reddy, who played the friendly match against Messi’s team at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, also thanked the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, for attending the event.
“We are deeply grateful to our leader Rahul Gandhi ji for joining us and making the evening a memory of a lifetime,” he said.
“I thank and congratulate all officers, security personnel, organisers and staff on duty across the city for ensuring we were able to showcase to the world that means sports, Telangana means excellence, and Telangana means hospitality,” the Chief Minister said.
“On behalf of my entire government, I thank all sports lovers and fans for their best conduct and disciplined manner in which we played hosts to our guests,” he added.
The celebrations included a vibrant musical concert and an elaborate laser show, featuring performances by Rahul Sipligunj and Mangli.
Before the friendly match, a ‘Meet & Greet’ programme was organised in honour of Lionel Messi at Falaknuma Palace.
CM Revanth Reddy, along with Rahul Gandhi, attended the event, where several distinguished personalities had the opportunity to interact with the football legend.
Messi was in Hyderabad on Saturday, where he appeared in many photo-ops, was seen kicking a ball with kids and interacting with officials. The visit came soon after the chaos witnessed at his first stop in Kolkata. A huge controversy erupted after his blink-and-miss performance at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, for which fans had forked out huge amounts for tickets.
(IANS)
