WATCH: Messi performs soccer with child elephant at Anant Ambani’s Vantara throughout India tour

Lionel Messi’s go to to Vantara, a wildlife rescue and conservation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, sparked a collection of heartwarming moments on Tuesday. Throughout his tour of the ability, based by Anant Ambani, Messi participated in conventional Hindu rituals and bonded with the animals in an unforgettable show of affection for wildlife conservation.

Accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, Messi interacted carefully with the animals. One of the crucial memorable scenes was captured in a viral Instagram video, the place Messi performed soccer with a child elephant named Maneklal. Within the footage, Messi kicks a ball contained in the elephant’s enclosure, and the mild creature nudges it again with its leg, drawing laughter and smiles from onlookers. The video, shared by an Ambani fan web page, shortly gained traction with the caption, “When soccer meets its largest fan.”

However Messi’s connection to Vantara went past playful moments. In a touching gesture, Anant and Radhika Service provider named a lion cub ‘Lionel’ in his honour, celebrating the soccer icon’s go to to the centre. The cub, adopted at Vantara’s Foster Care Centre for orphaned animals, now symbolises hope and resilience, very similar to Messi’s personal journey within the soccer world.

Throughout his go to, Messi expressed his admiration for Vantara’s mission, stating, “What Vantara does is really stunning, the work for animals, the care they obtain, the best way they’re rescued and sorted. It’s genuinely spectacular. We had an exquisite time, felt utterly relaxed all through, and it’s an expertise that stays with you.”

Messi’s India tour, which started in Kolkata and included stops in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, concluded with the Jamnagar go to, leaving a path of admiration and inspiration all through the nation.