Lionel Messi expressed his hope of playing in Inter Miami’s final game of a preseason tour in Asia after missing the team’s previous game in Hong Kong. His absence from the highly anticipated match disappointed fans and turned into a public relations debacle for his Major League Soccer side and event organizers. Messi cited swelling in his adductor muscle as the reason for his benching in Hong Kong and expressed his disappointment at not being able to play in front of the eager crowd.
The 36-year-old was unsure whether he would play in the upcoming friendly against J-League champions Vissel Kobe, but mentioned that he felt better than he did a few days ago and expressed his desire to play. The press conference was originally supposed to include appearances by David Beckham, coach Tata Martino, and teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez, but they were canceled at the last minute.
As many as 40,000 fans had paid a substantial amount of money to see Messi play in Hong Kong, and the disappointment was evident when it became clear that he would not take the field. Organizers faced backlash for their failure to communicate Messi’s absence to the attendees. The event was marred by Messi’s absence, and the organizers withdrew their application for a government grant for staging the event.
Despite the disappointment in Hong Kong, the Tokyo match saw a different scenario, with many tickets still available a day before the game. In Japan, fans were content just to catch a glimpse of Messi in the flesh, showing up at a training session just outside Tokyo. The match, at the Japan National Stadium, was set to kick off at 7pm (10:00 GMT) on Wednesday.