“Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) invites you to kick off the ‘Road to Madrid’ fever for UEFA Champions League with Farhan Akhtar, UEFA’s Official Guest from India and Rajesh Kaul, Head - Sports, SPN.

Date: 6th May 2019 (Monday)

Time: 12 PM onwards

Venue: Grand Salon, Grand Hyatt, Santacruz East.

By Invitation Only.”

Invitation accepted.

Bollywood star and football fan, Farhan Akhtar has been selected as UEFA’s official invitee for the Champions League Final set to be held on 1st June in the majestic Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

A press release from Sony stated that the actor has been an instrumental medium to bring the stories of sportsmen to the big screens with his choice of projects like ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and ‘Toofan’, which makes him an ideal contender for an off-screen sports collaboration with the world’s biggest club football league.

Fair enough.

And when Farhan came on stage to talk to the gathered press, you could see a genuine sense of excitement for the ticket he was about to receive. And a genuine sense of envy from fans gathered around.

Jokes aside, Farhan should do a fine job of forwarding the beautiful game as he posts about his journey to his vast social media following.

After a little discussion, the head of sports business at SPN India, Rajesh Kaul was asked to hand Farhan his ticket to the final, to which the actor quite instinctively said, “I love Mr. Kaul.”

Farhan picked Barcelona as the clear favourites to qualify for the final in Madrid, and on that note, he was asked if there was a footballer he’d like to play on the silver screen.

A post shared by Farhan Akhtar (@faroutakhtar) on May 6, 2019 at 3:05am PDT

That answer did bring about a few giggles amongst those in the hall. Giorgio Chiellini most certainly was not one of them.

The Bollywood actor and singer went on to talk about the importance of sport, he said, “I’ve always felt that sport is a very important part of personal development. Not only physically, it makes you mentally stronger.

“It encourages teamwork if you’re playing a team sport. And it teaches you how to deal with success, how to deal with loss, how to re-motivate yourself and further your goals. So there are a lot of life lessons that you can learn through sport.”

He can act, he can sing, he can direct a fine, fine film that inspires me to go to Goa almost every summer. But how’s Farhan Akhtar on the football field? He mentions his knack for attacking as he said, ”I always wanted to score goals so I wanted to play forward. More on the wing.”

But all’s well that ends with a final’s ticket to Madrid. Like any and every football fan would be, Farhan Akhtar is overjoyed to be heading to one of football’s biggest events.

“Oh my God, I can’t wait. I have a feeling that no matter what I imagine it’s going to be like, it’s going to surpass my expectations.

Farhan Akhtar knows how to write a good script. And the Champions League Final sure does too. June 1st can’t come soon enough.

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