Ranbir Kapoor is one of the biggest Bollywood stars of our time, and his latest movie, ‘RockStar’, hits the theatres later this month. Aged 28, he is the latest of three generations of stars of the silver screen in his family. His father Rishi Kapoor is also an actor, producer and director, as was his grandfather, Raj Kapoor.

Ranbir has no fewer than 2,415,860 Facebook fans, and is also a huge admirer of FC Barcelona. He is in the city at the moment, and asked to visit the club and get the chance to meet the first team players.

He was at the Ciutat Esportiva today, where he was photographed with players and coaches, including Leo Messi and Josep Guardiola.

Fan since the days of the Dream Team

“I have always been a Barça fan because of the way the play football, the players … It is like a religion, they play well and are also well organised. Also because of their solidarity. They play the best football I have ever seen anywhere in the world. I have been a Barça since the early nineties”, Kapoor said to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat

The actor explained that this love of Barça was despite the huge distance between Barcelona and India. “It is the best way to discover football. The first time I saw them play, I liked them a lot and became a fan. I watch lots and lots of Barça matches.”

Barça fan base growing in India

The actor also spoke about the popularity of the club in his country. “Barça is huge. In India the Liga matches come on very late and people pay more attention to the Premiership, but Barça still has a lot of fans. Messi is the best player in the world and people know about Xavi, Puyol, Piqué…, because they are all such good footballers. Football is a growing phenomenon in India and Barça is also growing every day. It’s the best club in the world”.