When he signed for Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, Lionel Messi probably did not imagine, less than a year later, being at the center of a diplomatic incident between his club, the selection of Argentina and China.
However, this is the case at the end of a pre-season tour which turned into a fiasco, both sporting and diplomatic, for the 2022 world champion and the club owned by David Beckham.
What happened ?
Player of Inter Miami since July 15, 2023, Pulga arrived as the MLS season was coming to an end, the American calendar being organized by calendar year.
Winner of the Leagues Cup with his new team, Messi had started his Florida adventure perfectly, looking ahead to the next edition of MLS with the desire to do better than the 14th and penultimate championship place won by his franchise in 2023 .
To tackle this new exercise in the best possible conditions, Miami underwent a long preparation tour.
Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan… The American team, filled with the arrivals of Jordi Albi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez during the summer transfer window, traveled throughout the months of January and February.
An economic boon for the club but also for the Asian market, where
the man with 8 Ballons d'Or has a lot of fans.
Yes but there you have it, already struggling with his physique at the end of 2023, Lionel Messi has played little.
7 minutes against Al-Nassr, 30 minutes against Vissel Kobe and 0 against Hong Kong, during a friendly match played on February 4.
Why are Chinese fans angry?
If the 40,000 spectators at the Hong Kong Stadium, packed to the brim for the occasion, saw goals thanks to the controlled success of Inter Miami (4-1), the majority left the enclosure mad with rage.
Indeed, some of them had spent up to 4,800 Hong Kong dollars (570 euros) in the hope of seeing the Argentine legend set foot on the pitch.
Citing hamstring discomfort, Messi did not leave the bench during the meeting.
However, according to the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, the 36-year-old striker had reached an agreement with Tatlter Asia, the company organizing the meeting, obliging him to play at least one half.
A broken promise which quite annoyed the Chinese fans, outraged by the attitude of the Pulga, who did not address them to apologize for his absence.
This hiccup even forced the match promoter to promise a 50% refund to spectators.
“Injuries are part of the game and we understand that.
However, we were saddened by the fact that the players did not show sufficient respect towards the supporters present,” the company stressed this Friday.
Why did the subject become political?
Why then has the affair gone beyond the framework of a sporting controversy to become a subject of geopolitical tension?
Quite simply because three days later, on Wednesday February 7, Messi came into play against the Japanese club Vissel Kobe.
Appearing all smiles during the last half hour of the match, the former Paris Saint-Germain player was unable to prevent his team's defeat on penalties.
But the main point was elsewhere: for many Chinese, the star's participation in this friendly match represents a position taken within the framework of the political, economic and ideological rivalry between China and Japan.
"One theory is that (Messi's) actions are politically motivated, as Hong Kong wanted to stimulate the economy through this event and external forces deliberately wanted to humiliate Hong Kong with this incident," he said. - for example, we read this week in the influential local newspaper Global Times, with a generally nationalist tone.
“This hypothesis cannot be excluded.”
After being ordered to explain himself by the government, the Argentina international lamented the “bad luck” of not being able to play, hoping to return to Hong Kong.
Insufficient for many Internet users.
“We gave him our love and he treats us like that”;
“If he doesn't respect his Chinese fans, we can't let him take a cent from our loved one”;
“The Chinese don’t lie down”, “Get out Messi!”
», We could read on Weibo, the Chinese social network.
The world champion has even been caricatured as an imperial Japanese soldier, setting the tone for his current popularity in the country.
What are the consequences to come?
For Lionel Messi, they will be limited to hatred of the archipelago, like the declaration of Regina Ip, main government advisor, believing that he 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.
His lies and hypocrisy are sickening,” she declared on X (ex-Twitter).
On the other hand, the affair risks falling on Inter Miami and its owner David Beckham, copiously whistled on the pitch when he tried to thank the supporters present at the stadium, who could close the doors of the lucrative Chinese market for a moment .
But it is above all the AFA, the Argentine football federation, which should pay the price.
Indeed, China announced this Saturday that it was giving up hosting the two friendly matches planned by the Argentine selection on its soil.
The Albiceleste was due to face Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing, between March 18 and 26.
A cancellation in the form of retaliation which should cost the world champions dearly, the latter relying heavily on China to develop economically, like the contracts signed with local companies at the end of their last trip within the Middle Kingdom, in June 2023.