Organised as part of a publicity stunt by Messi's boot sponsor Adidas, the Barcelona and Argentina star flew into the spiritual home of English Sunday football via helicopter from London City Airport.
However, the organisers - who posted photograph clues on Facebook as to where Messi would be throughout the day before revealing the location around 30 minutes beforehand - had not banked on the levels of interest.
And after being surrounded by fans just moments after stepping out of the helicopter - alone, with kit bag in hand - Messi was quickly bundled into a van by his minders and taken towards a secure area further away from the pitch.
The planned stunt was expected to see Messi come on as a substitute for one of the teams for the final ten minutes of the match - although the unexpected crowd levels scuppered those plans because of 'security fears'.
Later, Messi - who played and scored against Panathinaikos in a Champions League game at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night - is still expected to head towards Brick Lane to give away some signed boots.
And a couple of hours afterwards the Barca star may play in a 5-a-side game against some schoolchildren at an urban, concrete pitch in Stepney Green.
