Messi denies political snub was behind Hong Kong no
Lionel Messi denied his absence from a match in Hong Kong two weeks ago that angered China was a political snub, but was caused by an injury.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is idolised by fans in China but stayed on the bench during Inter Miami's 4-1 win in a pre-season tour match against a Hong Kong select XI on February 4.
A near 40,000 sellout crowd, who had paid upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) to see the 36-year-old superstar in action, chanted "Refund!", gave thumbs-down signs and booed Messi and the team's co-owner David Beckham after the final whistle.
Some nationalist politicians interpreted Messi's absence as a snub to China after the Argentina great was fit enough to take the field for 30 minutes in a friendly a few days later in Japan.
In a video posted on China's Weibo social media platform late on Monday, the World Cup-winning captain rejected claims that his no-show was "for political reasons".
If that had been the case, he said, he "would not have travelled" to Hong Kong in the first place.
"As everyone knows, I always want to play and be in every game," he said.
Messi spoke in his video of a "very nice and very close" relationship with China, a country with which he said he had "done a lot of things".
His reason for not playing was due to injury, he said, specifically "inflammation of an adductor" muscle.
Fans on Weibo reacted quickly to the video, some in support of Messi.
"I believe the player I have always loved would never look at his fans with any kind of prejudice," wrote one user, adding, "he always values every fan."
"I still can't understand how such a supreme footballer, the greatest of all time, can be pilloried online to the extent that he is considered not to love China just for missing a friendly match," another fan wrote.
Not everyone was appeased.
"Turns out it's still hard to say sorry after all," read one Weibo comment.
"Give it a rest," said another. "Run off to Japan and drink sewage."
Messi starred last June when Argentina beat Australia in Beijing in a friendly, scoring in the opening minutes in front of an adoring crowd.
But next month's Argentina friendlies against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Africa champions Ivory Coast in Beijing were cancelled after Messi failed to play in Hong Kong.
-
Sinkhole swallows up car, injuring 2 in SeoulAmazon's Kindle is currently a bargain for Prime membersTsitsipas calls for coaching to be allowed during matchesUS reaffirms 'no hostile intent' to N. Korea after Kim calls for stronger war preparations29 Dive Bars, Saloons, and Taverns Where the Vibe Is UnbeatableSeoul's arms exports to Poland help NATO tackle capabilities gap amid Ukraine war: U.S. envoyPension reform, other bills sent to Cabinet for promulgationiOS 10.3 is freeing up extra storage space, users sayNASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yetPyongyang fires suspected solid
- ·蒙顶山茶有了专属茶器
- ·The new head of the White House Office of American Innovation has never tweeted
- ·Pension reform, other bills sent to Cabinet for promulgation
- ·Chelsea agree club record deal to re
- ·Top 10 Tech Pranks
- ·Tokyo Games offer transfer hopefuls limelight to show skills
- ·iOS 10.3 is freeing up extra storage space, users say
- ·Sacked NK military official returns to No. 2 post of military
- ·Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free
- ·Can you find the 16 circles in this wild optical illusion?
- ·我市开通至西藏林芝客运班车
- ·Maxine Waters tweets Trump impeachment joke, gets best response
- ·Families of S. Korean detainees in NK appeal to embassies for support
- ·Seoul mayor lambasts Samsung Medical Center
- ·NK leader Kim Jong
- ·S. Korea reports sixth death from MERS, 23 new cases
- ·Pope says England are not 'one
- ·2024广东乡村歌手大赛地市赛区邀请函速递→丨赛事指南①
- ·In other celebrity breakup news, Amber Heard and Elon Musk have reportedly broken up
- ·Ocon wins chaotic Hungarian GP, Hamilton takes championship lead
- ·Where to pre
- ·N. Korea unlikely to close Gaeseong complex on wage row: S. Korean bizman
- ·Paris 2024 to fly biggest flag ever from Eiffel tower
- ·N. Korean soldier defects to S. Korea via eastern front
- ·Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- ·Try not to have sleepless nights after reading this man's tale about his haunted apartment
- ·广州市白云区供销联社携手6所院校15支队伍,加力提速推进“百千万工程”
- ·Gov't submits bills on ratification of new FTAs with China, Vietnam, New Zealand
- ·N. Korean human rights bill unlikely to pass Congress this year again
- ·Ruling party unilaterally adopts confirmation report on new PM
- ·18 Places for Epic Outdoor Adventure Across Colorado
- ·Barshim, Tamberi 'love
- ·The new head of the White House Office of American Innovation has never tweeted
- ·Park says considerable progress made with Japan on sex slaves
- ·We Asked GPT Some Tech Questions, Can You Tell Which Answers Are Human?
- ·NIS sees high chance of NK's provocations ahead of S. Korea's April elections