Inside Messi’s India G.O.A.T. Tour: Social Buzz, Sponsorship Value & Media Impact

- By Umang Poddar and Avani Nagar

Lionel Messi’s G.O.A.T India Tour last month gripped the nation with the fanfare it mustered. People warmly embraced the global footballing legend at each of the four venues: Kolkata, Hyderabad on the first day, Mumbai on the second day and New Delhi on the third and final day of the brief visit.

The tour reignited broader questions around spectacle versus substance in Indian football. Sponsors of the G.O.A.T India Tour found themselves under scrutiny, with critics questioning whether such high-profile exhibitions were drawing attention and resources away from the domestic game, particularly the Indian Super League, which continues to fight for sustained visibility and credibility. But, for the sponsors themselves, the main question is about reach and impact – so how did they perform in this regard?

Using proprietary tools, YouGov Sport evaluated the exposure and value generated by the tour for one of its Super Diamond Sponsors, Adani, focusing on secondary media impact, audience reach, and sponsorship exposure.

Secondary Media

To contextualise the noise around the tour, we compared social media chatter generated by the G.O.A.T India Tour with that of the ISL 2024–25 final which was held on April 12, 2025.

In the run-up to the ISL final, mentions across X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube built steadily and organically. Engagement followed a familiar sporting curve, driven by both anticipation and incident. By contrast, the G.O.A.T India Tour saw relatively muted pre-event buzz before exploding abruptly on the day of the event – news about anger from Kolkata’s fans over mismanagement of the event may have played a role in boosting chatter.

For sponsors, the surge in mentions delivered the scale of exposure they would have hoped for. However, much of this spike was rooted in negative coverage stemming from the Kolkata event at Salt Lake Stadium. While visibility was high, sentiment was mixed at best.

As the immediate controversy subsided, mention volumes normalised, dipping noticeably on days two and three of the tour. Still, for better or worse, Kolkata acted as the catalyst. The narrative momentum it created carried through to the remainder of the tour and sustained public attention until the final whistle.

Audience

The impact of Kolkata trickled down to live television and YouTube audiences as well.

Prasar Bharati broadcasted the events for free on linear TV and shared the digital rights with Sony LIV, streaming numbers for which are not available.

Prasar Bharati doubled down on Hyderabad and Mumbai events by hosting two live stream links for each of them on its YouTube channel, maximising reach and justifying the magnified numbers.

The linear TV audience of the G.O.A.T Tour paled in comparison to the marquee matches of the Indian Super League of the last season. Audiences tuned in the most for the Hyderabad show, which was less than half the average audience recorded for the first semi-final.

Exposure

From a brand exposure perspective, Grandstand billboards emerged as the most valuable asset for Adani, generating the highest net sponsorship value for the conglomerate. The exhibition match format also unlocked substantial returns through player clothing, a category that typically commands premium value in full-fledged sporting events.

Taken together, the five key sponsorship assets delivered an estimated net sponsorship value exceeding $600,000 for Adani. By any measure, this is a meaningful commercial outcome, even if the route to achieving it was shaped as much by controversy as by celebration.

Grandstand’s high exposure is attributable to its ~46% Share of Voice. Share of Voice is defined as the percentage of the brand’s total exposure accounted for by each of the sources. It underlines the volume of coverage that broadcasted the crowd, with a panned camera angle which made multiple tiers of the stands visible.

Along with Messi, there were multiple other celebrities and sports personalities (Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Chettri) in the stands and on the field. The reaction of the fans acknowledging their presence was captured manifold, affecting both both Grandstand Share of Voice, and helping Spectator Clothing inch into the top 5 of the Share of Voice table.

The player clothing contributed significantly to Adani’s value with good broadcast visibility. The logo’s near-central location constituted ~15% Share of Voice. This value can be further enhanced with a larger logo size and reduced clutter to maximise General Readability of the branded assets.

The presence of celebrities brings one of nine factors of Brand Recall into play that affect Sponsorship recall and value, called Star Power. YouGov Sport has been tracking the nine factors (Fun or Emotive Messaging, General Readability, Use of Colour or Eye-Catching Elements, Key Moment Replays, Headline Sponsors, Merchandise) using consumer data and expert opinion to create a standardised methodology—one that complements traditional visibility metrics and gives a more complete picture of sponsorship impact.

image credits: Prasar Bharati Youtube Channel