Antony, a Malayali singer fluent in 18 languages, including Bengali, had composed a special Spanish song to welcome Messi to the city. ADVERTISEMENT“I ran to save my life,” Antony told PTI, recalling how the celebration descended into mobocracy as crowd control collapsed inside the packed stadium. He saw Messi, along with long-time strike partner Luis Suárez and teammate Rodrigo De Paul, surrounded by many people. Personally invited by now-arrested event organiser Satadru Dutta to sing at Messi events in Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi, Antony had travelled from London and was staying at the Hyatt Hotel. “This is the first time in my life I saw nearly one lakh people in one place.

Source: The Telegraph December 23, 2025 09:37 UTC