The Argentine soccer genius and his Inter Miami team provoked fans' fury when he remained on the sidelines during a match against a Hong Kong team on Sunday, citing injury.
Fans, who had paid up to 4,800 Hong Kong dollars (570 euros) to see Messi, chanted “Refund!
", showed their fist with the thumbs down and mocked David Beckham, co-owner of the team, when he tried to thank the crowd.
But when the Argentine star played 30 minutes of a friendly match in Japan on Wednesday, indignation increased in China.
On Friday, the company which organized the meeting in Hong Kong, Tatler Asia, declared itself "deeply sorry" and promised those who bought tickets a 50% refund.
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“Injuries are part of the game and we understand that.
However, we were saddened that the players did not show sufficient respect to the fans in attendance,” the company said.
“We immediately asked the owners and management of Inter Miami to urge Messi to appear in front of the public and explain to them in person why he could not play.
But that ultimately wasn’t the case,” she lamented.
In mainland China, the influential Global Times newspaper, with a generally nationalist tone, suggested that the Argentine star wanted to damage the reputation of the archipelago.
"One theory is that (Messi's) actions are politically motivated, as Hong Kong wanted to stimulate the economy through this event and that external forces deliberately wanted to humiliate Hong Kong with this incident," wrote the daily.
“This hypothesis cannot be excluded.”
“Rude and arrogant”
The Hong Kong government had demanded explanations from the organizers of the match, who had requested public funding.
The Argentine player lamented the “bad luck” of not being able to play, hoping to be able to return.
But Hong Kong government's top adviser Regina Ip said Lionel Messi should "never be allowed to return".
“Hong Kong people hate Messi, Inter Miami and the dark hand behind them, for the deliberate and calculated snub inflicted on Hong Kong,” Ms. Ip said on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
“His lies and hypocrisy are sickening.
» In mainland China, Messi's absence on the pitch was at the top of conversations on the social network Weibo all week.
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A post from the footballer expressing his regrets was flooded with mocking comments and memes.
Some presented Messi as an imperial Japanese soldier, in reference to his supposed preference for Japan over China.
“Messi is very rude and arrogant, which is really annoying,” one user wrote.
The Inter Miami tour turned into a fiasco with a catastrophic balance sheet: 1 victory in 7 matches and more than 48,000 kilometers traveled on three continents in one month.
A frantic pace during which several players experienced physical problems like Messi or Sergio Busquets, who came out due to an injury against Vissel Kobe.
The American club will play its last pre-season match, on Friday February 16, against Newell's Old Boys, the training club for the Ballon d'Or.
The Floridians will begin the Major League Soccer season a week later, on February 22, against Real Salt Lake.