Affected by an injury, Lionel Messi was left out of the friendly Inter Miami They beat a team from the modest league of Hong Kong and practically went from hero to villain after 90 minutes. The fact is that his surprising absence generated great discomfort in the public, which not only he booed and whistled at the Rosario at the end of the match, but also demanded a “refund” of the at least $125 they had paid to see him play.
This Tuesday, in a conference he held within the framework of his team’s next match, this time in Japan, the Argentine star spoke about that uncomfortable situation. “The truth is that it was bad luck that I couldn’t be in the Hong Kong party,” he said.
Messi recalled that on January 29, in the first match in Saudi Arabia against Al Hilal, he felt adductor discomfort, while in the next match against Al-Nassr he played as many minutes as he could with the aim of seeing how he felt. “I had an MRI and it turned out that I had edema,” he revealed.
“Unfortunately They are football things, in any game it can happen that we cannot play. I always want to participate, I want to play, especially in these games when we travel so far and people want to see our games,” he said.
On the other hand, he said that he feels better from the injurybut that he was not sure if he would be able to perform in their next friendly in Japan against the Japanese champion, Vissel Kobe.
“I don’t know if I can (play) or not, but I feel much better and I really want to be able to do it,” Messi declared, on the eve of the match.
And he concluded: “Today in the afternoon we are going to train, we are going to try again. I have a very good feeling compared to how I was before.”
According to the Hong Kong Government, Messi had to play at least half of the game
The organizer of the Inter Miami friendly match in Hong Kong had promised that Lionel Messi would play at least 45 minutesThe Hong Kong Sports Minister declared this Monday in response to the discontent caused by the player’s absence from the field.
The Argentine, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, remained on the substitute bench throughout the match, played on Sunday and in which his team beat the Hong Kong team 4-1.
But the 38,323 spectators who had paid at least 125 dollars (about 115 euros), and in many cases up to five times more, to see their idol in action were very disappointed.
From the stands, the public chanted “refund!” and booed until the end.
The Hong Kong government released two statements on Sunday night. He declared himself “extremely disappointed” and threatened to withdraw the 1.9 million euros (about 2 million dollars) of public funding to the event’s organizer, Tatler Asia, a media specialized in fashion and lifestyle.
“One of the main conditions of our financing agreement with Tatler Asia was that Messi participate in the match for at least 45 minutes, except for reasons related to his physical condition and safety,” said Kevin Yeung, Secretary of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hong Kong, this Monday at a press conference.
“Yesterday, before the match started, Tatler Asia reaffirmed that Messi was going to play in the second half,” he explained.
According to Yeung, the local government tried to negotiate with the organizer after seeing that the 36-year-old player did not take the field at the start of the second half.
The government asked that other solutions be “studyed, such as Messi going out onto the field to greet his fans and receive the trophy,” Yeung said. “Unfortunately, as you see, this didn’t work.”
Hours later, the CEO of Tatler Asia confirmed that Messi had to play by contractexcept in the case of injury.
“Tatler Asia deeply regrets the disappointing end” to what should have been a “super occasion,” Michel Lamuniere said in a company statement.
The head of Tatler Asia announced that the company “has decided to officially withdraw its demand for government subsidy.”
This Monday, the Hong Kong Consumer Council announced that it had received some 40 lawsuits for the events that occurred.
In what will be their penultimate game before the start of the MLS, the Florida team will face off this Wednesday, February 7 (starting at 7:00, Argentine time) against one of the most powerful teams in Japan. Still the presence of Messi and Suárez is not confirmed eithertaking into account that Martino wants to take care of them as much as possible for when it is time to play for points.
Furthermore, with the friendly to be played against Newell’s on February 15 in Miami, the Argentine coach has the chance for his players to get into the football rhythm once again before hosting Real Salt Lake at home, for the first day of the MLS, on February 21.
With information from agencies.