Football legend Lionel Messi’s brief appearance in Kolkata on Saturday drew huge crowds and even bigger expectations, but the football star’s tightly managed visit left many fans disappointed after he skipped a planned public interaction and made only a private appearance alongside actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Messi arrived in the eastern Indian city as part of a commercial visit linked to brand commitments, triggering large gatherings outside his hotel and at venues where fans expected to catch a glimpse of the Argentine forward. Local authorities deployed heavy security as crowds swelled, with some fans waiting for hours in rain and traffic snarls hoping for a public appearance.

Those expectations went unmet. Messi did not attend a scheduled open event, citing security and logistical constraints, according to organizers. Instead, he was photographed at a closed-door meeting with Shah Rukh Khan, one of India’s biggest film stars and a co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders cricket franchise, a moment that quickly went viral on social media.

The contrast between the private celebrity interaction and the absence of a public-facing event fueled frustration among fans, several of whom took to social platforms to complain about poor communication and unrealistic promises made around the visit. Police were forced to disperse crowds near the hotel late in the evening as tensions rose.

Messi’s India visit reflects the growing commercial pull of global sports icons in the country, where brands increasingly use short, high-impact appearances to tap into a young, social-media-driven audience. India is not a traditional football market at the elite club level, but it has one of the world’s largest bases of casual fans who follow international stars through broadcasts, gaming and endorsements.

For organizers, the episode underscored the risks of hype-driven events in a market where celebrity access is tightly controlled and expectations can quickly outstrip reality. For fans, it was a familiar outcome: a global superstar briefly touching down, leaving behind selfies, speculation and a sense of what might have been.

Messi departed Kolkata later the same day, with no further public engagements announced.