Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who received a jersey signed by Argentine football star Lionel Messi, described him as an “artist with the ball.”
Banerjee said the jersey symbolises the unbreakable connection between Bengal and the beautiful game.
“Football is a passion that runs through my veins, much like every person in Bengal who has ever kicked a ball on the ‘para’ fields. Today, that passion found a special place as I received a jersey signed by none other than Lionel Messi,” the CM said in a post on X on Wednesday night.
The love for football binds us all, and Messi, an artist with the ball, a maestro of our times, embodies the spirit of brilliance that Bengal admires. This jersey is a symbol of the unbreakable connection between Bengals and the beautiful game.’
Mamata Banerjee has a strong connection with football. In the past, she backed East Bengal’s inclusion in the Indian Super League in 2020.
In 2022, she launched the ‘Khela Hobe Divas’ with party leaders, organising football matches across West Bengal to promote sports.
In September 2023 she had visited the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid along with La Liga President Javier Tebas.
