Kolkata: Football legend Lionel Messi spent hardly 25 minutes at the Salt Lake Stadium in the city after huge number of fans began swarming around him to click photos, making it hugely uncomfortable for the Argentine superstar, according to NDTV.
Fans in their hundreds poured into the stands paying whopping ticket prices to have a glimpse of the football icon when things went wrong.
At least a hundred people including politicians, dignitaries, and security personnel gathered about Messi when he appeared on the ground.
Fans waiting in the stands for a glimpse of the footballer could not see him and turned violent, forcing the player to leave the ground.
Former India midfielder Lalkamal Bhowmick, a player in the exhibition match that took place between Mohun Bagan Messi XI and the Diamond Harbour Messi XI, reportedly said that Messi lost his cool over the crowding at the venue.
Sports Now quoted Bhowmick as saying: ‘Everything was going fine at the start as Messi walked into the stadium. He seemed relaxed, smiling, and shaking hands with all of us. He even gave autographs without hesitation.’
Bhowmick added that Messi became ‘visibly uncomfortable’ when large number of people rushed in to click photos.
‘It got overcrowded very quickly, and we could see his reaction change as everyone around him started clicking pictures. He began showing signs of irritation, lost his cool, and everything went out of control,’ Bhowmick reportedly said.
It is reported citing Bhowmick the event was cut short as Messi's security team and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, who were part of Missi’s GOAT Tour of India, became unhappy with the mismanagement at the venue.