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Chinese cities cancel Argentina games after Messi no-show

February 10, 2024

Chinese authorities called off two Argentina friendlies, amid the controversy over star of the show Lionel Messi missing the games injured. Having not played in Hong Kong, he later came on as a substitute in Tokyo.

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Inter Miami's Lionel Messi (L) goes on the attack during the second half of a preseason match against Vissel Kobe at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 7, 2024.
Hong Kong and China were already piqued by Messi's absence before the injured superstar managed half an hour during a friendly in Tokyo a few days laterImage: Kyodo/picture alliance

China's capital Beijing became the latest city to call off an Argentina friendly on Saturday, as the fallout from star player Lionel Messi sitting out a highly publicized game in Hong Kong last week with injury intensifies. 

Beijing's football association made the announcement, halting a friendly between Argentina and Ivory Coast, a day after Hangzhou sports authorities also canceled a friendly between Argentina and Nigeria. 

"Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organize the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate," the Beijing Football Association said in a statement to local media. 

Lionel Messi (C) of Inter Miami CF sits a bench during the first half of the friendly match against Japan's Vissel Kobe at the National Stadium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo on Feb. 7, 2024.
Messi also spent most of the match in Japan on the bench, but unlike in Hong Kong, he made a crowd-pleasing second half cameo appearanceImage: Ryoichiro Kida/AP Photo/picture alliance

Why is Messi in Asia, and what's all the fuss about? 

Messi is touring Asia with his relatively new club, Inter Miami — owned by former England midfielder David Beckham — and his national team for what was meant to be a series of money-spinning friendlies before the start of the Major League Soccer season in the US later this month. 

However, an injury has limited his playing time for Inter Miami, and his failure to appear at all in a friendly in Hong Kong last week prompted a chorus of jeering from angry fans in the stadium and many more complaints online in China. 

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, sixth from left, looks on from the bench during the friendly football match between Hong Kong Team and US Inter Miami CF at the Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.
Messi spent the entire game in Hong Kong on the bench, apparently nursing an injuryImage: Louise Delmotte/AP/picture alliance

The organizers of the February 4 game in Hong Kong, Tatler Asia, announced a 50% refund on tickets, some of which cost fans in excess of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (roughly US $640 or €600). 

The mood soured further still a few days later when Messi was able to come off the substitutes' bench and play the last 30 minutes of a friendly in Tokyo, Japan.

This prompted questions on whether Messi had been snubbing Hong Kong — including from some nationalist Chinese politicians and publications — and led to the term "medical miracle" trending on Chinese social media. 

Messi a major brand in China

The Argentine star had enjoyed a large and passionate following in China until the ill-fated trip, punctuated by a successful friendly in Beijing with his national team last year. He's also a spokesman for a series of major Chinese brands like Huawei, Mengniu, and Tencent. 

A sailing ship with the face of Inter Miami CF Argentine forward Lionel Messi on its sail sails across Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour on February 2, 2024, ahead of the friendly football match between Inter Miami CF and Hong Kong Team on February 4, 2024.
No expense was spared promoting the February 4 game in Hong Kong, organizers later said supporters would get a 50% refund on their expensive ticketsImage: Peter Parks/AFP

It was not clear whether Messi, now 36, would have been available to play in the subsequent games in Hangzhou and Beijing. Nor was it immediately clear whether replacement fixtures might be arranged, or where.

The national teams of Nigeria and Ivory Coast would have both had to travel to Asia for the matches at relatively short notice, with those countries playing each other on Sunday in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

msh/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)