Nothing else can be a good news for the Indian football fans than this. The trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez from FC Barcelona will be in India really soon. The dream of many Indian football fans to see their stars playing live will come true.
This is confirmed now that Barcelona will visit India for a friendly match. Barcelona’s president Josep Bartomeu confirmed that the club is planning a visit to the country in the next two or three years.
Why is this special?
This is because the number of Barcelona fans have doubled in the last few years and they have become hugely successful and a lot has to do with the brilliance of theLionel Messi.
In an interview with The Hindu, the president said, “One of our objectives is to come to India with our first team, Now the dates are very tight. The season ends late and starts early. I am sure we will come to India in the next two to three years. Our board is seriously thinking about it.”
There are also reports that Cristiano Ronaldo will visit India next year with the Portuguese national team.
However, Lionel Messi has already visited India, so it will not be anything new for the Argentine.He came in 2011 with the Argentine national team and played a friendly against Venezuela in Kolkata. FC Barcelona has soccer schools in India as well and the president explained his plans for the future in India.
Although Cricket is the dominant sport in India right now and there is a huge task ahead to make football more popular but in the last few years, there has been an upturn in the number of fans thanks to the ISL.
Bartomeu also spoke about the club’s plans to expand their operations in India. “There is a lot to promote in other countries. We want to get closer to our fans in India. I know cricket is the popular sport, but I also know many people follow Barcelona. We want to come to India to teach young people the concept of FC Barcelona,” he said.
