In September 1977 an Indian astrologer predicted that Pelé would fall ill in Kolkata and be unable to take the pitch for Santos in an exhibition against Mohun Bagan. In the end the Brazilian did actually play to the delight of 60,000 fans but almost half a century later, there was perhaps even more excitement, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi set to appear on the subcontinent in the space of a month. This time, though, any doomsayer would be correct. Ronaldo didn’t come in October and Messi will not in November.
Without getting into that debate, Ronaldo’s absence is more painful simply because he was due to play in a competitive fixture, by some distance the biggest name ever to appear in a real game on Indian soil. August’s draw for the AFC Champions League Two put Al-Nassr in the same group as FC Goa, where the hotel for the visitors reserved the presidential suite for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for the 22 October game.
“To host Al-Nassr isn’t just about a match – it’s arguably the biggest game in Indian club football history,” the Goa CEO, Ravi Puskur, told the Guardian in August. “It’s the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to growing the game in Goa. Our fans, our players, and everyone involved with the club get to experience something extraordinary, something that will be remembered for generations.”
Goa’s coach, Manolo Márquez, remarked at the pre-match conference that usually there were one or two journalists. This time there were close to 100 applications from various media. There was huge demand for tickets too. About 11,000 had been sold with thousands of others going in what was described as a “craze for complimentary passes”. On gameday itself, the stadium’s VIP section was, according to the Times of India, “overcrowded with relatives and friends of ‘people in power’ forcing their way and occupying seats, without tickets”. In the end, they saw Goa give a great account of themselves before losing 2-1 to a team that featured stars such as Sadio Mané and João Félix.
Imagine what would have happened if Ronaldo had actually come to India? Maybe it was always unlikely, the 40-year-old has yet to play in any of the three group stage games so far in Asia. The former Real Madrid man is focused instead on the Saudi Pro League where Al-Nassr have won their first six games of the season, meaning that a first title since 2019 looks possible.
So far, he hasn’t been needed in Asia. Three wins from three with players such as Félix, Mané, Marcelo Brozovic and Kingsley Coman meaning the Yellows would be the favourites to win the AFC Champions League Elite, never mind the continent’s second tier tournament. Al-Nassr did not respond to a request to comment on Ronaldo not travelling but sources close to the club say the Portuguese superstar is unlikely to feature at all in the group stage. That may change later in the tournament as the player has yet to win a major trophy since arriving in Riyadh almost three years ago. The league, though, remains the priority for the club and, for the player there is, of course, a fifth World Cup next summer.
That the forward, now on 950 career goals, has to limit his minutes was still sad for all those connected to FC Goa. “Of course, we all would have enjoyed if Ronaldo had come and as a footballer, you always want to play against the greats of all time, but when the game starts, I think it becomes more of a story to tell later, that I played against Ronaldo,” the FC Goa captain, Sandesh Jhingan, told the Times of India.
There was then, just two days later, more heartbreak as it became clear that Messi would not play in the country for the first time since 2011. There was a friendly provisionally arranged between Australia and Argentina for the 17 November in the southern state of Kerala, and the local government in the football-loving state and its commercial partner had been trying to finalise the match for months but with Fifa’s approval not forthcoming, a statement from the Argentinian FA last Friday made it clear that the world champions were not going to India. The organisers, who have, according to reports, already made a payment to Argentina, hope to reschedule but whether it can be fit in before the World Cup remains to be seen.
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It all adds to what is a difficult time for football on the subcontinent. The 2025-26 Indian Super League season should have kicked off in September but due to contractual and legal wrangles clubs are still waiting to know when it will start. The men’s national team, which played at the 2019 and 2023 Asian Cups, are out of the running for 2027, after defeats against Hong Kong and Singapore, who have a combined population of 13 million, less than 1% of India’s.
You don’t need to be an astrologer to see that the stars are not aligned well in Indian football at the moment. Ronaldo and Messi would not have changed that, but a few different headlines would have been welcome.
