New Delhi: The world’s greatest footballer Lionel Messi completely adopted Indian culture at Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat in the last stop of his India tour. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant welcomed him.
Messi performed Maha Aarti of Maa Durga, said ‘Jai Mata Di’ and chanted other mantras like ‘Om Namah Shivay’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’. This video is going viral on social media. His companion Rodrigo de Paul continued to look at him with respect.
Worship and rituals in the temple
Vantara is a huge wildlife conservation centre. Messi arrived here with his teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul. He received a traditional welcome, got tilak applied on his forehead and performed Maha Aarti in the temple. This included Ambe Mata, Ganesh, Hanuman puja and Shiva Abhishek.
in a thousand years I wouldn’t have imagined Messi saying Jai Mata Dii ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ holy based pic.twitter.com/kjHEPMPdLj
— sierra🇮🇳 (@sierraoperator) December 17, 2025
Messi anointed Shivalinga with milk and ‘Jai Maah Pal’ connects Indian spirituality and love of nature. During this time, Messi’s simplicity impressed everyone.
Anant Ambani gave gift to Messi
Messi played football with the lion, tiger, elephant Maniklal and fed other animals. He became emotional after hearing their rescue stories. Messi praised Vantara’s work, saying that the care of the animals is amazing. They felt comfortable and promised to come again. Anant also gifted him an expensive watch.
India tour concludes
This tour was part of ‘GOAT India Tour 2025’, which started from Kolkata and reached Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Jamnagar. A unique confluence of sports, culture, spirituality and conservation took place in Vantara. Messi praised Indian hospitality and love of fans. He said that the future of football in India is bright.
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