Daily Times

Carles Puyol, legendary Spain and Barcelona superstar, arrived here on Saturday to promote football and kick off ticket sales for World Soccer Stars 2019. Puyol, who has joined the list of global football stars to have visited Pakistan in the past year, will be featuring in the World Soccer Stars 2019 – a project of TouchSky Group. The event will comprise two exhibition matches that will be staged on April 27 and 28 in Karachi and Lahore respectively featuring some of the biggest names of world football. He will be joined by Portugal great Luis Figo, Brazilian superstar Kaka and mercurial Frenchman Nicolas Anelka. Earlier this year, Kaka and Figo had also arrived in Pakistan to promote the World Soccer Stars 2019.

“Karachi, I look forward to seeing you all and I am really excited to meet all my fans in Pakistan,” Puyol was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the organisers on Tuesday. “World Soccer Stars presents a great opportunity to celebrate the arrival of football and from what I know football is the next emerging sport in Pakistan.”

Fans would get to interact with Puyol at Dolmen Mall in Karachi on Sunday (today), where he is expected to launch a special edition of VR headsets bearing his signatures. The former defender is also likely to attend the final match of the fourth Pakistan Super League tournament that will be played at the National Stadium Karachi today. However, the organisers did not disclose his trip details in the press statement that announced his visit. Puyol is a 40-year-old retired professional footballer who spent his entire career with his boyhood club, FC Barcelona. He is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. He was referred to as the “wall” by his teammates due to his strength, commanding air presence, commitment and ruggedness. The versatile defender could play on either flank but stamped his mark globally as a centre-back.

Published in Daily Times, March 17^th 2019.