Miles away from Argentina, Messi’s farewell hits home for his Indian fans

What lengths would you go to prove your love for your sporting idol, especially when they are one of the greatest to have graced the football field?For Lionel Messi’s superfan Yadil Iqbal, it took 40 hours of travel and thousands of dollars in expenses, all to tick off a bucket list: the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the diminutive forward’s last dance with Argentina, a game 21 years in the making.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4FIFA chief Infantino’s ‘abuse of power’ questioned by Norway in complaintslist 2 of 4‘My actions must be punished’: Ronaldo confirms Portugal availabilitylist 3 of 4CAS to hear Senegal appeal over AFCON title awarded to Moroccolist 4 of 4Qatar and India among seven countries bidding for 2036 Olympics, IOC saysend of listBut even as Iqbal packed his bags – carefully tucking the blue-and-white Argentina jersey and a special watch he hoped to gift Messi – there was a little twist in the story.When he left his hometown Kodungallur in the southern Indian state of Kerala to attend Messi’s farewell friendly against Benin, the internet-popular creator did not have a ticket to Tuesday’s match at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.During t...