Tickets to see Lionel Messi lead Argentina's national soccer team in a friendly against Australia in Beijing are worth up to $680, organizers announced Friday.
The June 15 match at the 68,000-capacity Workers' Stadium is a replay of the Argentina vs. Australia match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when they met in the knockout stages.
Messi, whose contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends at the end of the season, scored in that match that Argentina won 2-1 on its way to victory in the World Cup.
In the knockout stages of the World Cup, Messi scored the opening goal of Argentina's 2-1 win over Australia. Photo: Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP.
Tickets for the friendly are priced from 580 yuan ($82) to 4,800 yuan ($680) and will go on sale in two batches, on June 5 and 8, according to organizers.
Several upset fans took to social media to complain about the prices.
"I'm going to report them for theft," wrote a user of the Chinese network Weibo on the account of the company organizing the friendly.
"For 4,800, is Messi going to carry us on his back while he plays?" another user asked.
China has taken steps to prevent ticket resale, but merchants on Chinese platform Taobao have already started offering ticket-buying services. A vendor charged 18,000 yuan for what he says is access to VIP seats.
This will be Messi's first visit to China since 2017. After playing Australia, Scaloni's team will face Indonesia on Monday, June 19.
Source: AFP
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