“Calculated contempt.” The Hong Kong Government accuses Messi of not having played there: “His lies about him are disgusting”

The absence of Lionel Messi in a friendly in Hong Kong and his participation three days later in another in Japan aggravated the anger of aficionados y chinese mediawhat They accuse the Argentine of maneuvering against Beijing. The captain of the world champion team was loudly whistled and booed on Sunday in Hong Kong after not participating in an Inter Miami preseason match, citing an injury. The fans, who had paid up to HK$4,800 (US$500), demanded a refund of their tickets and silenced the club’s co-owner David Bekcham’s thank-you speech.

Just three days later, the ’10’ played half an hour of a friendly in Japan, further inflaming the Chinese fans, who felt cheated. On Friday, Tatler Asia, the organizer of the event, said it was “deeply saddened” and promised those who bought tickets a 50% refund. “The Hong Kong match was the only one of Messi’s six preseason friendly matches in which he was absent,” the influential nationalist tabloid highlighted in an editorial. Global Timeswhich questions “the integrity of Inter Miami and Messi.”

Fans react, angry at Messi’s absence, during the friendly match between Hong Kong and Inter Miami in Hong Kong, on February 4Louise Delmotte – AP

”Messi and Inter Miami cannot leave it like this, disdaining the fans and public opinion. “Messi is not only a player, but also a public figure,” he states. ”If there are errors or breaches in his integrity, the attention surrounding him will cause a huge adverse reaction,” the tabloid claims. The article reminds that The Argentine team has two games scheduled in China in March, less than a year after a visit to Beijing in which important advertising contracts were closed. “It is expected that [Messi] give a reasonable explanation before that date,” the Global Times said. In its editorial, the newspaper goes so far as to suggest that foreign forces have conspired to damage the reputation of this semi-autonomous Chinese city.

“Calculated contempt”

Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous government sought explanations from match organizers, who waived public funding for the event and said they had received repeated assurances of Messi’s participation. The player from Rosario stated that his absence in Hong Kong was “bad luck” and that he hopes to return to the city. But a senior local government adviser, Regina Ip, replied that Messi “should never be allowed to return”. “The population of Hong Kong hates Messi, Inter Miami and the black hand behind them for their deliberate and calculated contempt for Hong Kong,” he said on the social network X. “His lies and hypocrisy are disgusting,” he added. he.

The figure of Lionel Messi looks headless in a promotional poster for the friendly between Inter Miami and Hong Kong XILouise Delmotte / AP – AP

In mainland China, from where many fans traveled for the Hong Kong match, Messi was a trend all week on the social network Weibo. A publication on the footballer’s account in which he regretted not having been able to play received a cascade of sarcastic comments and memes in response. Some showed Messi wearing the clothing of Japan’s imperial soldiers, in reference to the star’s participation in the Tokyo match. ”Messi is very unfriendly and arrogant, which is really annoying,” said one user.

The issue is sensitive: Hong Kong actress Samantha Ko Hoi-ling had to apologize on the platform after declaring to local media that she understood Messi’s absence in Hong Kong. Hu Xijin, a prominent nationalist editorialist, called on netizens to express “restrained” criticism so as not to raise his status. ”Nor that a lazy demonstration of his could affect our great nation and hurt the feelings of our entire society,” he stated.

Messi was not fit to play in Hong Kong, according to the clubLouise Delmotte – AP

A negative tour

Since the first match of Inter Miami’s tour around the world, Messi played 238 minutes, distributed over five games, namely: 45 against El Salvador (goalless draw); 64 minutes against Dallas (1-0 loss), 88 minutes against Al-Hilal (4-3 loss), a seven-minute cameo in Riyadh against Al-Nassr (6-0 loss) and the 34 minutes of this Wednesday against the Japanese monarch. In the middle, his non-appearance in Hong Kong in the team’s only victory in the entire preseason: 4-1 ante Hong Kong XI. In total, the Inter Miami superstar averaged 39 minutes per game. Not even a while. Too little for a tour that aimed to establish the pink team’s brand in the world. But a lot for a footballer who is already 36 years old and who comes from almost two months of vacation: his last official match dates back to November 21, against Brazil and at the Maracaná.

From sports, The preseason does not leave any positive conclusions to Tata Martino. Beyond what the treasury has billed and the marketing behind each presentation, Inter Miami looked more like Lionel Messi FC than a franchise with aspirations to be competitive during the season that is about to begin. And that will have quadruple competition: MLS, Concachampions, US Open Cup and League Cup. Consuming the energies of a spine that is over 30 years old (in addition to Messi’s 36, Luis Suárez is 37; Busquets, 35 and Jordi Alba, 34) does not seem to be the best strategy for a team that can play 66 games between February and December. Time will tell.

Gerardo “Tata” Martino and Messi in Japan, during the last game of the tourEugene Hoshiko – AP

To complete the last four games, the Inter Miami squad traveled almost 22 thousand kilometers: from Miami to Riyadh (12,029 km), from Riyad to Hong Kong (6,810 km) and from there to Tokyo (2,879 km). He did just two practices open to the public – with all that that implies for the coaching staff – one in Hong Kong and the other in Japanese territory. Instead of “Go global”, the journey could have been called “La Pulga Tour”. It was, in short, a test for the magnetism of the Argentine idol.

An easy calculation between the number of kilometers (21,718) traveled for these four games in Asia and the minutes played by Messi in the four games (129) gives a figure of 168 kilometers in the air for every sixty seconds of Messi on the field. The income of Inter Miami, which took advantage of the tour to present several sponsors (among them, an Argentine winery that will be its official wine sponsor) flows in another direction. The two parties in Saudi Arabiafor example, had an approximate turnover of 10 million dollars just for tickets. In Hong Kong there were 40 thousand people on the field who were eager to see the Argentine. And many others paid to witness the previous day’s training.

Inter Miami, with Messi as the main protagonist, made a tour that covered five countries@intermiamicf

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