Kolkata: Lionel Messi kept his date with the football crazy city as he landed in the wee hours of Wednesday along with Javier Mascherano, although he gave the slip to the thousands of hysteric fans who had gathered at the airport in the unearthly hours.
The Barca duo, who were held back for their La Liga match against Villareal late Tuesday, came via Qatar as their flight landed at 3.15 am sharp.
But more than a thousand Messi supporters, many wearing his No. 10 jersey, started pouring in from 2 am onwards.
Braving a few spells of rain, the supporters danced, shouted slogans of 'Three Cheers for Messi' and held life-size Messi banners as delirious scenes were witnessed outside the main gate of the International terminal.
But nobody had a clue which gate Messi would exit from.
No one, including the hordes of mediapersons gathered at the airport, could get any information about Messi's movement as the Argentine superstar and his Barca teammate Mascherano, along with three other Venezuelans, were escorted out discreetly under high security cover.
Confirming Messi's arrival, Celebrity Management Group, the organisers of the Argentina vs Venezuela match on September 2, said Messi was led out quietly.
"Yes, Messi has finally arrived along with Mascherano and three other players from Venezuela. Nobody had an idea through which gate he would be taken out through," Bhaswar Goswami, executive director of CMG, told mediapersons.
Accompanied by Mascherano, Messi was sporting a white T-shirt as he completed the formalities with the Custom before being taken out of Gate No. 5.
More than 30 members of the Argentine delegation including coach Alejandro Sabella have already checked in.
Venezuela team members too have come in batches for their match on Friday.
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