Wayne Rooney will be coming to India as part of the ISL, says Sourav Ganguly
Brazilian great Pele is not the only football star scheduled to touch
down in the city with ISL team Atletico de Kolkata co-owner
Sourav Ganguly claiming that England superstar Wayne Rooney
would also be visiting Kolkata later this year. The former cricket
captain said the 29-year-old English captain is coming as part of
the second edition of the franchise-based tournament kicking off in
Chennai on October 3. “Rooney will be coming here as part of the
ISL, so it will not just be about Pele,” the CAB joint-secretary told
media.
Ganguly has already shot a promotional for the ISL earlier this
week and according to reports, Rooney is part of that ISL
promotional and is likely to visit the city in November. The
tournament organisers of the ISL were not available for a comment
on the development, while another source rubbished the report.
“It’s a rumour. How can Rooney come? England are supposed to
play two friendlies (against Spain on November 13 and France on
November 17),” he said of the striker who went past Sir Bobby
Charlton’s tally of 49 England goals. However, the Manchester
United striker does not have any club commitment during this
period and it remains to be seen whether the city will have a tryst
with another football icon. Pele, it was announced by his agent,
will be arriving in the city for a three-day visit from October 11
and be the guest of honour at ATK’s first home match in the
second season of ISL, against Kerala Blasters, the following day at
the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Saltlake. Pele’s visit
will mark his return to the city 38 years after he played an
exhibition match for Cosmos against Mohun Bagan. In recent past,
the football-mad city has hosted greats like Diego Maradona, Karl-
Heinz Rummenigge, Lionel Messi, Oliver Kahn, Diego Forlan and
Gerd Muller among others.
