Sports department secretary

Kerala Sports Minister: The Kerala government's claim that no public money would be spent to bring football legend Lionel Messi to the state has now been exposed as misleading.

It has now emerged that the state government spent Rs 13 lakh on the Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman’s trip to Spain in September 2024, reportedly to invite Messi to Kerala. The Minister was accompanied by the Sports Department Secretary and the Director of Sports and Youth Affairs.

This revelation contradicts Minister Abdurahiman’s earlier statement that it would not cost the government “even a single rupee” in inviting Messi to Kerala.