Lionel Messi spoke about his absence in a friendly match in Hong Kong: what the Argentine said after public anger

Struck by an injury, Lionel Messi he was excluded from the friendly match InterMiami They beat a team from the modest league of Hong Kong and basically went from hero to villain after 90 minutes. His surprising absence has generated great discomfort among the public, and not only he whistled and whistled at the Rosary at the end of the match, but also demanded a “refund” of at least 125 dollars paid to watch him play.

Last Tuesday, in a conference held on the occasion of his team’s next match, this time in Japan, the Argentine star spoke about that uncomfortable situation. “The truth is, it was bad luck that I couldn’t participate in the Hong Kong party,” he said.

Messi recalled that on January 29, in the first match in Saudi Arabia against Al Hilal, he felt it adductor discomfort, while in the following match against Al-Nassr he played as many minutes as possible with the aim of seeing how he felt. “I had an MRI and discovered I had edema,” he revealed.

“Unfortunately It’s football stuff, in any game it can happen that you cannot play. I always want to participate, I want to play, especially these games when we travel so far and people want to see our games,” she said.

On the other hand, he said this he feels better after the injurybut that he was not sure if he would be able to perform in the next friendly match in Japan against the Japanese champion Vissel Kobe.

“I don’t know if I will be able to (play) or not, but I feel a lot better and I really want to be able to do it,” Messi said on the eve of the match.

And he concluded: “This afternoon we will train, we will try again. I have very good sensations compared to how I was before.”

According to the Hong Kong government, Messi should have played at least half the match

The organizer of Inter Miami’s friendly match in Hong Kong had promised it Lionel Messi would play at least 45 minutesHong Kong’s Sports Minister said this on Monday in response to the discontent caused by the player’s absence from the field.

The Argentine, eight times winner of the Ballon d’Or, remained on the bench for the entire match played on Sunday in which his team beat Hong Kong 4-1.

But the 38,323 spectators who had paid at least 125 dollars (about 115 euros), and in many cases up to five times more, to see their idol in action were very disappointed.

From the stands the audience shouted “refund!” and booed until the end.

The Hong Kong government released two statements on Sunday evening. He declared himself “extremely disappointed” and threatened to withdraw 1.9 million euros (about 2 million dollars) in public funding from the event organizer, Tatler Asia, a media outlet specializing in fashion and lifestyle.

“One of the main conditions of our financing agreement with Tatler Asia was that Messi participates in the match for at least 45 minutes, except for reasons related to his physical condition and safety,” said Kevin Yeung, Secretary of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hong Kong, this Monday at a press conference.

“Yesterday, before the start of the match, Tatler Asia reiterated that Messi would play in the second half,” he explained.

According to Yeung, the local government tried to negotiate with the organizer after seeing that the 36-year-old player did not take the field at the start of the second half.

The government has asked that “other solutions be studied, such as Messi taking to the pitch to greet his fans and receive the trophy”, Yeung said. “Unfortunately, as you see, this didn’t work.”

Hours later, the CEO of Tatler Asia confirmed it Messi had to play by contractexcept in the event of an accident.

“Tatler Asia deeply regrets the disappointing conclusion” to what should have been a “super occasion,” Michel Lamuniere said in a company statement.

The head of Tatler Asia announced that the company “has decided to officially withdraw its application for government subsidies”.

This Monday, the Hong Kong Consumer Council announced that it had received some 40 lawsuits for the events that occurred.

In what will be the penultimate match before the start of MLS, the Florida team will face this Wednesday, February 7 (starting at 7:00 am Argentina time) against one of the most powerful teams in Japan. Still not even the presence of Messi and Suárez is confirmedtaking into account that Martino wants to take care of them as much as possible when the time comes to fight for the points.

Furthermore, with the friendly match that will be played against Newell’s on February 15th in Miami, the Argentine coach has the opportunity to get his players back into the rhythm of football before hosting Real Salt Lake at home for the first matchday of the MLS, on February 21st.