Lionel Messi has finally secured the trophy that had eluded him throughout his career, clinching the FIFA World Cup 2022 title in Qatar. Argentina triumphed over France in a penalty shootout, as Messi made history. The World Cup in Qatar saw significant support for Messi and Argentina, particularly from the people of Kerala.
Now, it seems that Messi and his team are poised to visit the South Indian state in the latter half of 2025. Kerala’s sports minister V Abdurahiman shared in an event in Kozhikode, “For seven days from October 25 to November 2, Messi will be in Kerala. Apart from the friendly match, he will be on a public dias for twenty minutes to see you all.”
However, this statement could be misinformation, as FIFA does not have an international window during the dates mentioned by the Kerala sports minister. There are two available windows in that part of the year: October 6 to 14 and November 10 to 18.
Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami in MLS, is in the twilight phase of his illustrious career. Over his glittering career, he has won eight Ballon d’Or awards and has been named FIFA Best Player eight times. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football, having amassed 45 team trophies, including twelve Big Five league titles, four Champions Leagues, two Copa Americas, and one World Cup.
Additionally, Messi holds the records for the most European Golden Shoes (6), the most goals for a single club (672 with Barcelona), the most hat-tricks (36), and the most assists (192) in La Liga. He is also Argentina’s all-time top scorer and most-capped player. On the youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. Messi made history in 2006 as the youngest Argentine to play in and score in a World Cup, and became national team captain in 2011. Under his leadership, Argentina reached three consecutive finals (2014 World Cup, 2015 Copa America, and Copa America Centenario), although they were runners-up in all three.
