Fact Check: Messi arrives in Hyderabad – Fans go wild? No, video shows Allu Arjun at Pushpa 2 premiere
A video claiming to show fans welcoming Lionel Messi in Hyderabad during his GOAT India Tour is going viral on social media.
By - M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The viral video shows crowds cheering for Lionel Messi upon his arrival in Hyderabad.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is not from Messi’s visit. The visuals are from Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad during the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule in 2024. The crowd in the video were there to see Allu Arjun, who can be seen in the video.
Hyderabad: On Saturday, Argentine football legend Lionel Messi arrived in Hyderabad as part of his three-day GOAT India Tour, following a chaotic start in Kolkata, where fans threw bottles and stormed the stadium.
The tour, spanning Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi from December 13 to 15, features exhibition matches and fan interactions, drawing massive crowds across the country.
Hyderabad’s leg included Messi landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, heading to Falaknuma Palace, and later appearing at Uppal Stadium for a 7v7 match. While there were enthusiastic gatherings at these venues, the visit has been marked by excitement and some crowd management issues similar to those in Kolkata.
Amid the buzz around Messi’s Hyderabad stop, a video began circulating on social media claiming to show the frenzy of fans welcoming the GOAT in the city.
In the clip, a massive nighttime crowd is seen cheering wildly, waving phones with flashlights on, creating a sea of lights under urban billboards and structures, with people gesturing excitedly from an elevated viewpoint.
An X user shared the clip with the caption: “BREAKING | HYDERABAD Messi has arrived in Hyderabad! The GOAT touches Hyderabad soil, fans go crazy! Historic moment for Indian football #GOATIndiaTour #Messi #LionelMessi #MessiInHyderabad #BreakingNews #Messi” (Archive)
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Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral video is from Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule. The crowd in the video were there to see the actor who can be seen in the video.
A reverse search of several keyframes from the video led us to an X video captioned “Still can’t get over it #Pushpa2.” The video was shared on August 15.
Following this lead, through keyword search, we found a video on YouTube by News Buzz uploaded on December 5, 2024, with the title, ‘Allu Arjun Exclusive Visuals @ Sandhya Theatre Hyderabad | Pushpa 2 | Rashmika Mandanna | Sukumar’.
The footage shows actor Allu Arjun making a surprise appearance during the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad.
Finding similarities to find the location in viral clip
A comparison of the viral clip with visuals from the News Buzz video shows many similarities.
The crowd density, nighttime setting, Allu Arjun’s attire, his waving gesture from atop a vehicle and the surrounding structures are identical in both sets of visuals.
NewsMeter also examined the surrounding buildings and metro line visible in the viral video and compared them with Google Maps Street View imagery of the Sandhya Theatre and RTC Crossroads area. The pillars, road layout and elevated structures match perfectly, confirming that the video was shot at Sandhya Theatre.
However, Sandhya Theatre is not featured in the list of places associated with Messi’s Hyderabad visit.
Messi did attract large crowds during his appearance in Hyderabad on December 13, but the viral video in question does not depict that event.
The reports and footage confirm the event occurred on December 4, 2024, at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad’s RTC Crossroads, where Allu Arjun made a surprise appearance, leading to massive crowds and even a tragic stampede.
The video claiming to show fans welcoming Lionel Messi in Hyderabad actually shows massive crowds at Sandhya Theatre during the Pushpa 2: The Rule premiere in 2024, who came to see Allu Arjun.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false.
