Fact Check: Messi holds Samvidhan during India tour? No, footballer’s photo is edited

Hyderabad: Argentine football icon Lionel Messi visited Hyderabad on December 14, as part of his high-profile GOAT India Tour.

His stop in the city followed a chaotic start in Kolkata marked by major crowd management issues and security lapses. The three-day tour, running from December 13 to 15 across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi, included exhibition matches, fan interactions and public appearances that drew massive crowds.

In Hyderabad, Messi arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport along with teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, stayed at Falaknuma Palace and later headlined a seven-a-side exhibition match at Uppal Stadium. The event attracted thousands of fans and was attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, reflecting the tour’s wide public and political attention.

Amid this excitement, an image began circulating on social media claiming to show Messi holding a red pocket edition of the Indian Constitution during his appearance at Uppal Stadium.

In the viral image, Messi is seen on the pitch wearing a green Adidas jersey, smiling and waving at fans with his tattooed right arm raised. However, he is shown clutching a red book titled ‘Constitution 2024’ in gold lettering, a visual commonly associated with political events and rallies in India.

An X user shared the image on December 14 with the caption “Jai Samvidhan.”(Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral photo has been digitally manipulated.

Source of the image

A keyword search led us to the original image from Messi’s Hyderabad visit, which was shared earlier on the same day by CM Revanth Reddy on his official X handle.

I wholeheartedly thank G.O.A.T Lionel #Messi … football greats Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, for accepting our invitation and gracing our city of #Hyderabad and enthralling all our sports lovers especially youth. We are deeply grateful to our leader Shri @RahulGandhi ji for… pic.twitter.com/byelDzaF7q

— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) December 14, 2025

The post included multiple photographs and a video from the Uppal Stadium event, thanking Messi and his teammates for visiting Hyderabad. In the source images, Messi is clearly seen waving to the crowd with an empty hand, with no book or document visible on him.

Comparison of viral image to source

A comparison between the viral image and the photograph shared by CM Revanth shows how both images are the same; the stadium background, Messi’s green jersey, his body posture and the positioning of players such as Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul are identical.

The only addition is the red book, which does not appear in the original visuals.

Further analysis revealed that the hand holding the Constitution does not belong to Messi.

Whose hand is holding the Constitution?

A focused search for the distinctive red pocket-sized Constitution led us to photographs from a ‘Constitution Samman Sammelan’ held in Ranchi on October 19, 2024. Images published by ProKerala show Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi holding an identical red Constitution book during the event.

A close comparison confirms that the hand posture, grip on the book’s spine, cover lettering and angle match exactly with Rahul Gandhi’s photograph. The hand has been digitally adjusted and superimposed onto Messi’s image, confirming that the viral photo is a composite edit.

Did Messi carry the Red Book during the tour?

Coverage of Messi’s Hyderabad event, including official photos, videos and live streams, shows that he was engaged in fan interactions and the exhibition match and did not hold any such book during the appearance.

The photo claiming to show Lionel Messi holding the Constitution during his Hyderabad visit is a digitally edited image created by combining a genuine photograph from the GOAT India Tour with an unrelated image of Rahul Gandhi.

Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false.