Inter Miami tour in Hong Kong ends in embarrassment due to Messi injury

Inter Miami tour in Hong Kong ends in embarrassment due to Messi injury

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The country’s authorities were outraged by the absence of a famous player on the field

Captain of the Argentina national team and striker of the American team, winner of various awards, Lionel Messi has enraged his Chinese fans. To do this, it was enough for him simply not to play football.

Three days of admiration for Lionel Messi in Hong Kong ended in heartbreak for his fans and problems for the local football governing body. Simply because the captain of the Argentine national team did not take the field in a friendly match of his club Inter Miami against the local football league team Hong Kong XI. The game, which was sold out, ended with a score of 4:1 in favor of the guests, and the Argentine sat on the bench for the entire match.

Spectators chanted: “Return the money” and smashed advertising banners with Messi – social networks are full of spectacular videos of plywood Lionel having his head knocked off. Moreover, the Hong Kong government said match organizers Tatler Asia could face funding cuts after the star footballer was left on the bench during the game. The Chinese province’s Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC) allocated HK$15 million ($1.92 million) for the event, as well as a HK$1 million grant to renovate the stadium, the government said in a statement. Well, they know how to count and value money in one of the main financial centers of the world.

“As for Messi not playing the match today, the government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed with the agreement of the organizers. The organizer must explain what happened to all football fans. MSEC will take further action with the organizer in accordance with the conditions, which include a reduction in the amount of funding as a result of Messi not playing the match,” the government body said in an official statement.

The organizers themselves justify that they expected the participation of Messi and his former Barcelona teammate, Luis Suarez from Uruguay, and were extremely disappointed that they still did not take part in the match.

“Despite some news reports, Tatler did not have any information about Messi or Suarez being absent from the game before kick-off. The team’s medical department declared Messi and Suarez unfit to play, to everyone’s disappointment, including ours,” the company organizing the Miami match in Hong Kong “turns the trigger.”

To be fair, it is worth noting that the decision on the participation of a particular player is made by the team’s head coach. In this case, Gerardo Martino, who told reporters that the entry of Messi and Suarez into the field risked aggravating their injuries. And the loss of such expensive (in all respects) football players is definitely worth more than two million dollars. And not Hong Kong ones.

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It’s amazing how much Messi has come to mean to world football. And the Golden Balls are given to him as if on schedule. And every exhalation is watched as if it were the last exhalation of Mr. PJ… This is probably why the star football player was so sad in Hong Kong – perhaps he no longer has the right to privacy and injuries.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29210 dated February 6, 2024

Newspaper headline:
Messi without a head

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