Yadil M Iqbal, a die-hard Lionel Messi fan from Kerala, India, has embarked on a 32-hour journey from Bengaluru to Buenos Aires, hoping to watch the Argentinian icon’s farewell match on October 6.
But Yadil has no match ticket or Argentine visa. The Indian national is banking on his US visa for entry into Argentina.
Messi, 39, who announced his international retirement last month, is going to play his last game for the national team when the three-time world champions take on Benin in an international friendly at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on October 6.
Yadil, who collaborated with an artist to make murals of Messi in his hometown of Kodungallur, is now hoping to get lucky and secure a match ticket.
But, according to reports in the Argentinian media, tickets for the match in the 85,000-capacity Estadio Monumental were sold out in less than an hour.
That, though, has failed to dampen the spirit of Yadil, who had also travelled to Miami in the past just to watch Messi play for Inter Miami in the MLS.
Now, despite the uncertainty over tickets, Yadil remained upbeat as he waited for a connecting flight to New York from London.
“I have already travelled 11 hours from Bengaluru to London. Now I have to take a flight to New York. From there, I have another flight to Buenos Aires. It’s going to take me 32 hours,” Yadil told the Khaleej Times.
Before his departure from Bengaluru, Yadil shared a video on Instagram from the airport, expressing his nervous excitement as he dreamt of watching ‘the last dance’ of his hero.
“I don’t have match tickets with me. I have almost a 32-hour flight, so it will take two days to reach. Once I get there, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to get into the stadium,” he said.
“I asked around back home about tickets for the match, and they are costing around ₹1,00,000. And there is also a chance that the tickets could be completely fake, so I could end up losing that money without getting anything.
“So I’ll have to see if I can get a ticket after I reach there.”
Yadil admitted that his chances of getting a match ticket are very low, but he still wanted to try his luck.
“I know it’s something that requires both incredible luck and a lot of effort. If, in the end, I’m able to watch that moment from the stadium directly — the final moment — I feel that would be a truly unforgettable Indian moment,” he said.
“Let’s all pray. The chances are still very low, but for someone willing to take that kind of risk, I’m hoping I’ll be able to watch it.”
Last June, Yadil, who watched all seven matches of Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when the South American giants triumphed, could not believe his luck when Messi responded to his post on Instagram to wish the Argentinian legend on his 39th birthday.
Messi’s ‘Thank you, Yadil’ message left him in tears, just as he cried after meeting Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni during an event in Dubai last year.
“Scaloni is the coach who built this World Cup-winning Argentina team, that’s why I am so grateful to him. Scaloni deserves enormous credit because he created a system that brought the best out of Messi. He made sure Messi could produce those extraordinary performances in Qatar,” said Yadil, who owns a restaurant in Kerala.
“You know Messi is a player who comes once in a hundred years, and Scaloni ensured that Argentina finally got the very best out of him on the biggest stage. That’s why I was crying after Messi’s message, just as I cried when I met Scaloni.
“Messi and Argentina control my heartbeat. I live for these World Cup moments.”
Now, getting a ticket for Messi’s final game may not be in his control, but if he gets one, expect this true-blue fan to shed tears of joy.
Source: Khaleej Times