Lionel Messi explained why he did not play in the friendly match in China but could not appease the fans.
Lionel Messi is facing a fierce boycott in China after he did not play in the friendly match between Inter Miami and the Hong Kong Stars (China). Last night, February 19, the Argentine superstar posted a video on social network Weibo, explaining why he could not play.
However, Chinese fans do not seem to sympathize with the player who owns 8 Golden Balls.
Messi explained why he could not play to appease Chinese fans.
Of all the articles in the sports section of Sina newspaper on the morning of February 20, the news about Messi had the highest number of comments with thousands of opinions shared. Most of the comments are critical of the Inter Miami star.
” Under pressure from sponsors, Messi had to apologize ,” a fan satirized the Argentine team captain’s actions.
Messi posted a video on Weibo to appease Chinese fans.
” Get as far away from here as possible ,” another fan commented.
” This guy turned around as quickly as a magician. He doesn’t deserve to be welcomed ,” angry Chinese fans.
In addition, many other criticisms were raised such as: ” Messi only likes Chinese money “, ” How many times have Messi’s fans attacked Ronaldo, considering Messi as a family member but now Have they seen who Messi is ?”, ” The qualities of a person come from within, not those fancy words “, ” Is the public pressure on you too great, do you think we are that stupid?” ? “.
In late January and early February, Inter Miami Club went on an Asia tour. Among the stops are Hong Kong (China) and Japan.
Messi did not play in the match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong Stars (China) on February 4 despite sitting on the bench. Previously, the organizers confirmed that this player would compete. That makes the fans feel cheated. Especially 3 days later, Messi played in the match against Vissel Kobe (Japan).
Messi did not play in the match against the Hong Kong Stars on February 4.
The organizing committee must refund 50% of the ticket price to Hong Kong fans (China). The incident spread widely throughout China. Two friendly matches of the Argentina team scheduled to be held in Hangzhou and Beijing next March were also canceled. The organizers are concerned that Messi may not play like in the match in Hong Kong.
In the video, Messi said: ” I read and heard many things after the match in Hong Kong. I wanted to record this video and provide information to you so that no one has to see false stories. I heard everything. People saying I don’t want to compete for political reasons and many other reasons are completely untrue. If there was such a thing, I would not have come to Japan and visited China like I did. Since the beginning of the career, I have a close relationship with Chinese fans .”
Messi said he suffered from myositis during the tour in Saudi Arabia. The situation is worse when this player is present in Hong Kong. In Japan, Messi felt better so he came off the field for a few minutes.
