Organisers and police are expecting tens of thousands more at Hong Kong Stadium this weekend, for an open training session on Saturday and an exhibition game against a Hong Kong XI the day after, part of the Tatler Xfest which also includes performances from Keung To, Anson Lo Hon-ting, Gloria Tang Tsz-kei (G.E.M.) and Gareth Tong Ling-shan (Gareth T).

Aware of the potential for chaos, officials have warned people not to travel to Causeway Bay without tickets, and said buying them from third parties would likely result in being turned away at the gate.

Signs placed around Cotton Path, Eastern Hospital Road and Caroline Hill Road, which will be closed to traffic, reinforced that message.

Still for Messi’s supporters, some of whom spent tens of thousands of dollars and travelled thousands of kilometres, just getting a glimpse on Friday was enough.

Alice Rong Hui, 39, brought her aspiring footballer son Bob Xu Bao, 12, from the northern Chinese city of Harbin “in order to fulfil the dream of seeing Lionel Messi”.

“I’m captured by Messi’s unique playing style, I think he’s surpassed Pelé and Maradona,” said Xu, who is a pupil at Zhejiang Greentown Football School.

Rong, who works in architectural design, said she spent more than HK$40,000 for the five-day family trip, which includes Xu’s younger sister, covering transport, accommodation, food, and one VIP ticket to the match.

“As long as my son’s happy, that’s good,” Rong said. “I hope that the very encounters of these stars would aid my son’s journey in becoming a footballer one way or another.”

Hong Kong students Kit Chan, 20, and Harry Chan, 24, arrived at the hotel after their lectures at about 4pm, and said it was their only chance to see the stars as they could not afford stadium tickets.

“I have been a fan of Messi for over a decade, I’d be very happy if we could see him,” Harry Chan said.

Kit Chan added that seeing Messi would “tick off one item on my life’s bucket list”.

Despite being among the large crowd crammed into the hotel lobby, they did not catch a sight of the World Cup winner, but friends sent them pictures and videos of Messi getting off the team bus.

The Ballon d’Or winner and his teammates were met by a pair of lion dancers as they entered the hotel.

Inter Miami’s visit, for which they have been joined by club co-owner David Beckham, is among more than 80 major events the government announced last week would be held in the first half of the year to boost the economy.

Beckham arrived ahead of the squad to attend a closed-door commercial event on Friday in the city.

Messi visits Hong Kong: when is Inter Miami match, tickets, TV, itinerary

How much game time Messi actually plays will depend on Saturday’s session. The 36-year-old felt a twinge in his hamstring and underwent an MRI earlier this week to assess the problem.

He played just seven minutes in his side’s 6-0 drubbing by Al Nassr on Thursday, just hours before the team flew to Hong Kong on a private jet.

Martino said he would wait until Saturday’s session, which is taking place in front of a sell-out crowd at the 40,000-seat stadium, to decide if Messi could start the match.

“We will assess each of the players in training because we have been playing a lot of pre-season games,” Martino said at a press conference attended by a host of local dignitaries, including Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Joe Wong Chi-cho.

“The aspiration is that Leo can play as many minutes as possible. We will determine how long he can play depending on what happens in training tomorrow. But he will most certainly be on the pitch.”

Inter Miami’s game will be their third in the space of six days, and they travel to Japan on Monday for a match against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo two days later.

The players, then, could be forgiven for the slight confusion that marked their arrival on a delayed flight from Riyadh, which finally touched down at Hong Kong International Airport at 2.30pm, pushing the welcome ceremony back an hour.

Players and staff from the US club assembled on a red and pink stage by the plane and were presented with a bouquet of flowers by a local child.

There was then a mix-up as the master of ceremonies, who was using both English and Cantonese, asked the squad to stay for further formalities, only for them to leave and board a waiting bus, leaving a group of children hoping to get pictures disappointed.

After a few minutes, Sam Wong Tak-sum, Hong Kong’s commissioner for sports, joined the children on the runway stage along with representatives from Inter Miami, the Hong Kong Airport Authority and the visit’s organisers.