HONG KONG (AP) — Lionel Messi made another conciliatory gesture to his fans in Hong Kong and mainland China on Monday…
HONG KONG (AP) – Lionel Messi on Monday released a video on social media explaining why he did not play in an exhibition match this month, showing another conciliatory attitude towards fans in Hong Kong and mainland China, saying he will not play in an exhibition match. claimed that he did not participate. The political reasons behind his decision.
Messi remained on the bench during the match between Inter Miami and the local team on February 4, disappointing fans in Hong Kong and the city government. Messi and Inter Miami announced he had suffered a groin injury, but complaints have spread to mainland China days after he played 30 minutes against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo.
After the match in Tokyo, China’s state-run newspaper Global Times reported that Messi’s actions were “politically motivated” and that there was no evidence to suggest that “external forces” wanted to embarrass Hong Kong. They even published an editorial emphasizing the “theory” that does not exist.
Amid growing criticism on Chinese social media, the Hangzhou sports bureau has canceled next month’s friendly match between Nigeria and World Cup champion Argentina, captained by Messi, in China for “well-known reasons”.
Messi said in a two-minute video posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Monday that he wanted to set the record straight.
“I heard people say that they don’t want to play (in Hong Kong) for political reasons and many other reasons, but that’s not true at all,” Messi said in Spanish in a video with subtitles in Chinese and English. He spoke at “If I had, I would never have traveled to Japan so often or visited China so many times.”
Messi said he did not play because inflammation in his adductor muscle worsened after another friendly in Saudi Arabia.
The day before the match against Hong Kong, Messi said he tried to play in front of the fans who had come to watch Inter Miami practice.
“I did everything I could,” he said. “But I really couldn’t play. I felt uncomfortable and was at risk of getting worse.”
He said his condition had improved by then and he played in Japan.
The Argentine star said he had a “very close and special relationship with China”.
Near the end of the video, he said he “always has a special love for his Chinese fans and always will” and hopes to see them again soon.
It is unclear whether Messi’s latest attempts to deal with his PR disaster will help him return to the Chinese market any time soon. Apart from the match in Hangzhou, World Cup champions Argentina were also scheduled to play a friendly against recently crowned African champions Ivory Coast in Beijing next month.
However, following the recent uproar, the Beijing Football Association announced that the city has no plans to host matches involving Messi.
Earlier this month, Tatler Asia, the organizers of the Hong Kong match, apologized to those disappointed by Messi’s absence and offered a 50% refund to those who had purchased match tickets through official channels.
Tickets for this match can cost up to HK$4,880 ($624) each.
Tatler Asia said in a statement that it would refund a total of HK$56 million ($7.2 million), resulting in a loss of HK$43 million ($5.5 million). Organizers said the net profit before refunds was HK$13 million ($1.7 million).
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