Lionel Messi ‘doesn’t care about Hong Kong’ and Xinjiang fan’s 12-hour trek – Chinese social media blasts Inter Miami fiasco
- Fingers are pointed at the US club and Messi himself over his no-show in a match in Hong Kong that fans had paid exorbitant sums to see
- Xinjiang man feels ‘cheated’ after travelling over 5,000km to see Messi, while online poll is held as blame game begins
Furious football fans on Monday vented their anger at Lionel Messi’s no-show at an exhibition game in Hong Kong, with some saying he disrespected the city, while others shared stories of 12-hour flights and thousands of dollars down the drain.
On Sunday, to audible dismay at Hong Kong Stadium, Messi, regarded as one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game, sat on the substitutes’ bench for 90 minutes and watched his Inter Miami teammates beat a side representing the hosts 4-1.
Fans had already seen the Miami squad walk away early from a welcoming ceremony on Friday, followed by Messi stretching at an open training session on Saturday that was also cut short and featured little involvement from the Argentine World Cup winner.
A video that went viral on X, formerly Twitter, showed a fan kicking Messi’s head clean off a cardboard cut-out inside the stadium after the match, as a group of spectators behind him cheered.
Many people commented on the video, saying they understood the fan’s anger and would feel the same had they paid thousands of dollars for a ticket.
On Chinese messaging platform WeChat, a widely circulated video showed Messi stepping out of the line of Miami players queuing to receive medals and shake hands with the city’s leader, John Lee Ka-chiu. Messi stayed at the back and dodged the formalities.