Argentina's football legend, Lionel Messi, is doing a quick three-day tour in India, calling it his GOAT tour, before he tries to defend the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

His visit didn't start well. On Saturday, some fans got upset and threw bottles, even trying to damage the stadium because they couldn't really see Messi.

The Times of India wrote that many people with tickets couldn't see Messi at all. They waited for hours but didn't see him in person or on the big screens.

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, said sorry to Messi for how badly the event was handled.

She posted on social media that she was upset by the poor management at Salt Lake Stadium. She also apologised to the fans who paid for tickets and expected a better experience.

Banerjee mentioned that a group would be formed to look into what happened, figure out who was responsible, and suggest ways to stop this from happening again.

Messi's tour was planned to take him from Kolkata to Hyderabad, then Mumbai, and finally to New Delhi.

He was with his old teammates, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul.

Earlier on Saturday, Messi introduced his 70-foot statue in Kolkata from a distance.

Sepp Blatter, who used to be the FIFA president, said India could be a big deal in football, but the sport has had some issues there lately.

The Indian Super League (ISL), which is India's main football league, might fall apart because of a fight between the federation and its business partner.

Bengaluru FC, an ISL team, even stopped paying their players and staff because of the trouble.

In August, the team said they made that choice because they didn't know what was going to happen with the Indian Super League season.

The 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) starts on December 21st, meaning several Premier League players will head off in winter to play for their countries.

The tournament goes from December 21st to January 18th, 2026. Depending on how far their country goes, players could miss up to six Premier League games.

FIFA said recently that clubs can keep players until December 15th before they have to leave for the tournament.

Several Premier League clubs will lose players to AFCON this winter. Here's a list of players going on international duty, according to Flashscore:

Arsenal - zero players

The Gunners don't have any African players in their first-team squad.

Aston Villa—one player

Winger Evann Guessand often plays for the Ivory Coast and is likely to join the current AFCON champions.

Bournemouth—one player

Amine Adli, who signed this summer, should be picked for Morocco, which is hosting the tournament. But Bournemouth will keep Antoine Semenyo because Ghana didn't make it to the event.

Brentford—two players

Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso) and Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) might be called up by their countries. Onyeka is on the Super Eagles' preliminary list.

Brighton - one player

Carlos Baleba hasn't had a great season, but is still on Cameroon's squad for AFCON 2025/26. Yankuba Minteh will stay with Brighton since Gambia didn't qualify.

Burnley—three players

Lyle Foster is on South Africa's team, and Axel Tuanzebe was picked for DR Congo.

Hannibal Mejbri is also going to play for Tunisia.

Chelsea - zero players

Chelsea doesn't have any African players in their first-team squad.

Crystal Palace—one player

The Eagles have a few first-team players who could have gone to Morocco, but some were injured before the tournament.

Chadi Riad (Morocco) and Cheick Doucoure (Mali) haven't played for the club this season and will miss AFCON. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) was injured in their December game against Manchester United, so it's unclear if he'll be ready.

Christantus Uche was on Nigeria's preliminary list but didn't make the final team.

Everton—two players

Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye are regular players for Senegal and should join the team before the tournament.

Adam Aznou won't be playing for Morocco, the host country.

Fulham—three players

The Nigerian trio of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Samuel Chukwueze are all on Nigeria's team.

Leeds—zero players

Leeds doesn't have any African players in their first-team squad.

Liverpool—one player

As expected, Mohamed Salah will play for Egypt.

Manchester City—two players

Omar Marmoush will be joining Egypt as well.

Rayan Ait-Nouri hasn't played much recently, but should join Algeria.

Manchester United—three players

Three important players are going to AFCON: Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), and Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).

Newcastle—zero players

Yoane Wissa would usually play for DR Congo, but he wasn't picked because he's currently injured.

Nottingham Forest—two players

Taiwo Awoniyi was on Nigeria's provisional list, as was Ola Aina. But the defender is expected to be out until January with a hamstring injury, and neither made the final team.

Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly will both play for the Ivory Coast.

Sunderland—five players

Sunderland will be the most affected club by AFCON, with five of their first-team players confirmed to leave.

Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku are on DR Congo's team, while Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) were also picked.

Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) wasn't called up by his country.

Habib Diarra, the club's record signing, is also expected to join Senegal if he recovers from a groin injury that has kept him out since September.

Tottenham Hotspur—two players

Pape Matar Sarr will likely be picked by Senegal. It's not yet known if Yves Bissouma, who hasn't been playing much, will join Mali.

Mohammed Kudus, a winger, plays for Ghana, but they didn't qualify for the tournament.

West Ham—two players

The Hammers will miss defensive duo Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf. Wan-Bissaka has been called up for DR Congo, and Diouf will probably play for Senegal.

Wolves—two players

Only two of a possible five players are set to leave for AFCON. The club is currently at the bottom of the Premier League.

Marshall Munetsi wasn't picked by Zimbabwe, but Tawanda Chirewa will join them. Emmanuel Agbadou was picked by the Ivory Coast.

Tolu Arokodare was on Nigeria's preliminary list but not the final one, and Jackson Tchatchoua wasn't picked by Cameroon.