Lionel Messi is one of the best soccer players ever and is loved by many fans around the world. He has fans all around the world, in every corner of the planet. But even the Argentine maestro is not immune to both criticism and backlash.
Recently, he was injured and had to miss a large part of the pre-season tour of his club, Inter Miami. He missed a game against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and a game against Hong Kong XI in their city. And his absence in the game caused a lot of backlash which he is addressing now.
Lionel Messi addresses Hong Kong no show
Many Hong Kong fans were excited to watch Lionel Messi play for Inter Miami in the friendly match. Many came from very far away, and the ticket prices were not cheap as well. They were disappointed to see Messi not play a single minute on the pitch, and protested after the game.
Messi did go on to play another friendly game against Vissel Kobe in the next few days in Japan. This made Chinese fans even more angry, and many demanded an explanation. Many even attributed it to political reasons, as Hong Kong is in political turmoil. And after a long period of backlash, Messi decided to share his version of the story.
Lionel #Messi took to one of China's largest social media platforms on Monday to address speculation over his non-appearance in a recent Inter #Miami friendly in #HongKong. pic.twitter.com/kCK7p5UZgw
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) February 20, 2024
In a Weibo video released on Monday, Messi spoke about his absence from the match. He bashed the ‘political reasons’ as being untrue, and said, “Had that been the case, I wouldn’t have even travelled to Japan or visited China as many times as I have.”
He explained that he did try to participate but his injury did not allow it, “I tried to train and made an effort for all those who’d come to watch training. I did all I could. I also went along to the football clinic with all the kids. But I really couldn’t play. I felt discomfort and there was a risk it’d get worse.”
Fans demand refund after Lionel Messi skipped Hong Kong tour
After the match was over, many fans booed David Beckham, and even Lionel Messi. They demanded a refund right then, and it caused political turmoil in the city. They had to pay a quite expensive ticket price of around $624. Since then, the organizers, Tatler Asia, have promised to refund half of the ticket price.
INTER MIAMI BOOED OFF THE FIELD IN CHINA 😡
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) February 4, 2024
The mood in Hong Kong turned sour after Messi didn't play in the #InterMiamiCF friendly. 40,000 fans chanted "Refund refund refund" and "Where is Messi?" (who sat on the bench). Beckham also booed post-match.pic.twitter.com/gjnbEfSRUr
The Chinese authorities even cut funding for more friendly games in the future, and cancelled two of Argentina’s games in the country, even attributing it to the current situation. Many lawmakers are also demanding an explanation of the situation from the match organizers.
Lionel Messi will be bothered to hear all of this, but he will now prepare for the start of the new MLS season, which will begin with a game against Real Salt Lake tomorrow.
