Hyderabad: Football legend Lionel Messi will be in Hyderabad on Saturday, staying at the Taj Falaknuma Palace perched atop a hill overlooking the city.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with government representatives and dignitaries, will meet the footballer.
The Uppal cricket stadium is decked up to witness Messi’s spectacular “Penalty Shootout,” when his team will take on CM Revanth-led squad in a friendly tie.
Singareni RR9 led by CM Revanth and Aparna-Messi All Stars, led by Messi will play a 15-20 minute friendly match. Five minutes before the match, Revanth Reddy, a football enthusiast and Messi will join and dribble the ball together.
“There will be penalty shoots to decide who is the winning team. Each team gets a 3-3 penalty shootout so that they will decide who is the winning team. Messi will be doing it separately on his own. His magic kick will be done to showcase it to everybody,” said Parvathi Reddy, advisor to the G.O.A.T. Tour Hyderabad.
Messi will leave the city on Sunday morning.
In view of the schedule and the chaos at Kolkata, the Hyderabad police have beefed up security around the Falaknuma Palace.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium with over 3,000 personnel guarding it like a fortress.
Messi would have ‘Z’ category security during his visit and an exclusive entry into the stadium. Spectators would be allowed three hours before the play starts at 7 PM, the police official said.
About Falaknuma Palace
Falaknuma Palace is one of Hyderabad’s most splendid landmarks. The palace was built in 1893 by Vikar-ul-Umra, the Prime Minister of the then Nizam. Just two years later, in 1895, it was bought by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, who chose it as his residence.
Later, the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, used Falaknuma Palace primarily as a royal guest house to host distinguished visitors from India and abroad.
Over the decades, Falaknuma has witnessed several historic moments and hosted some of the most prominent personalities. After the princely era, the palace was leased to the Taj Group, which carefully restored it and transformed it into a luxury heritage hotel under the name Taj Falaknuma Palace which is regarded as one of the finest palace hotels in the world, known for its royal architecture, priceless interiors, and unmatched hospitality.
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