La Liga, in its bid to target the Indian market and make the Spanish league the Indian football fan's foreign league of their choice, is planning to bring Champions League winners to India
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
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Football fans in India have been treated to many legends who have descended on sub-continental shores either to regale crowds with their cutting edge skills or to fulfill commercial requirements. Now, brace yourselves for this! La Liga, in its bid to target the Indian market and make the Spanish league the Indian football fan's foreign league of their choice, is planning to bring Champions League winners Real Madrid's Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Argentine star striker Lionel Messi to India soon.
While Ronaldo has still to visit India, Lionel Messi set foot at Kolkata in 2011 for FIFA's first ever official international friendly match in the Indian sub-continent featuring Argentina and Venezuela. Messi, then 24, sent scores of football fans in ecstasy, donning the sky blue and white jersey. Nicolas Otamendi scored the lone goal at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium at Salt Lake to ensure a 1-0 win.
"Messi and Ronaldo are coming to India soon. Messi already has a commercial relationship with an Indian brand and Cristiano was supposed to come. Carles Puyol was here few months ago. La Liga works normally with legends, so to bring these current players is not that easy. Their schedules are very tight. They have a lot of commitments, both with their clubs and personal," Country Head of La Liga (India) Jose Cachaza told mid-day.
Besides, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, Cachaza revealed that the League is also planning for friendly matches involving La Liga sides with their Indian counterparts. "That is something absolutely necessary for this to happen. We are working with local promoters. And hopefully, we will have good news soon, but maybe not this year," he added.
Also Read: FIFA World Cup victory a difficult mission for Cristiano Ronaldo
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