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 idolized 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 Feb. 4.
A near 40,000 sellout crowd, who had paid upwards of HK$1,000 (US$128) 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.
Photo: AFP
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 Sina 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 “would not have traveled” to Hong Kong in the first place, he said.
“As everyone knows, I always want to play and be in every game,” he said.
“Since the start of my career, I’ve had a very close and special relationship with China,” he said in the 140-second video. “I’ve done lots of things in China — interviews, games and events. I’ve also been there and played many times.”
His reason for not playing was due to injury, he said, specifically “inflammation of an adductor” muscle.
“As always, I send good wishes to everyone in China, who I’ve always had, and continue to have, special affection for. I hope to see you again soon,” he said.
Fans on Sina 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 that “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 comment.
“Give it a rest,” another said. “Run off to Japan and drink sewage.”
This is at least the third time Messi has explained why he did not play in the exhibition match, after a news conference in Tokyo and a written statement published on Sina Weibo.
The state-run Global Times earlier this month said in an editorial that Messi failed to apologize and the effect of the incident “far exceeded the realm of sports.”
Chinese sporting authorities canceled planned friendly games between Argentina and Nigeria as well as Ivory Coast in the wake of the saga.
Hong Kong politicians also weighed in, with Legislative Council member Regina Ip saying that Messi should be banned from the territory because of his “lies and hypocrisy.”
The organizer of the Hong Kong match said it would issue a 50 percent refund to ticket holders worth US$7.2 million because of Messi’s no-show.
There are signs that Messi’s latest statement might calm the waters.
Former Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, who earlier led criticism of the soccer legend, wrote on X that Messi’s “attitude seemed sincere” in the video and he personally accepts the explanation.
Nevertheless, Messi would pay a price in terms of a damaged image in China, Hu said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS