Messi Plays in Japan After Anger Grows in China Following Snub
(Bloomberg) -- Controversy over Lionel Messi’s failure to play in a football match in Hong Kong is showing no sign of ending, after he delighted fans by taking part in a match in Japan just days later.
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Comments by Hong Kong sports lawmaker Kenneth Fok accusing Messi and his US club Inter Miami of disrespecting fans were among the top trending topics on Weibo on Wednesday. Another popular topic was partly entitled “Messi’s Mess.”
In a post on China’s Twitter-like Weibo late Wednesday, the Argentine World Cup winner told fans he regretted being unable to play in Hong Kong due to an injury to his adductor muscles — reiterating remarks he made Tuesday during a press conference in Tokyo.
“Friends who know me will know that I want to give my best in every game, especially when I come from a long way with my teammates,” Messi wrote, adding that he looked forward “to returning to the mainland as soon as possible to share the joy of football with you.”
In another sign the saga is growing beyond Hong Kong, the former editor-in-chief of China’s Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, questioned Messi’s failure to play. In a post on X, Hu Xijin asked why the star didn’t shake hands with Hong Kong’s leader John Lee, and called for an apology to Chinese fans.
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“Smiling in Japan but sulking in China, what can I say?” a Weibo user wrote in one of the most upvoted comments on the trending topics. “He has picked a side and shown his politics. Don’t come back again.”
Public anger could threaten Messi’s partnerships with Chinese brands. Hundreds of users flooded the comment section of a Weibo post Messi made earlier to promote the Chi Shui He liquor brand, with many calling on the company to cut ties with the Argentine.
“Lionel Messi can’t control how his 36-year-old body holds up over the course of a season,” said Brett Albert, senior lecturer in the McCormack Department of Sport Management at UMass Amherst. “But the promoters could have been a bit more up front with patrons about the likelihood of his injury preventing an appearance.”
China and Japan have a troubled history due in large part to Japan’s colonial invasions and atrocities committed during World War II. Government ships from Japan and China regularly seek to expel one another from waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea. Yet Japanese businesses are some of the biggest foreign investors in China and it’s an important trade partner.
Foreign individuals and brands regularly come under fire from nationalistic elements in China, with the pushback intensifying in recent years. In 2019 Christian Dior SE, Coach, Givenchy and Versace were criticized for identifying Hong Kong or Taiwan as separate countries from China. Two years later, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief executive officer, apologized after quipping that his bank was likely to outlast China’s Communist Party.
While there’s been no official comment by Chinese authorities, Hong Kong’s government said in a statement authorities and football fans were “extremely disappointed that Messi could neither play in the friendly match nor explain to the fans in person upon request.”
The organizer of the event, Tatler Asia, on Monday chose to forfeit HK$16 million ($2 million) worth of government funding in the wake of the controversy. CEO Michel Lamuniere blamed Inter Miami for what transpired, saying the organizer was told Messi was fit to play at the start of the game. When it became clear he wouldn’t join the game, the team ignored appeals for Messi to address fans, Lamuniere said.
In its first public statement on the fiasco, Inter Miami on Wednesday said it is “sorry” that Messi and his teammate Luis Suárez couldn’t participate in the match. The team said it had waited until the last moments to rule out the players to maximize the chances of them playing.
“We do feel it necessary to express that injuries are unfortunately a part of the beautiful game, and our player’s health must always come first,” the US team said in an emailed statement, adding the club would be eager to return to Hong Kong.
Messi, 36, last played in mainland China in June, when he led Argentina in a friendly match against Australia at a packed Beijing stadium. His team is scheduled to return to China for exhibition games against Nigeria and Ivory Coast in March, according to the Argentine football association.
The match in Japan is the final leg of Inter Miami’s global pre-season tour that’s seen the US club only win one match — their game in Hong Kong.
“I’ve been a fan of Messi for almost 9 years since I was in high school,” said Yuka Yasui, wearing a Messi shirt and visiting from Kyoto. “I was so anxious after he didn’t play in Hong Kong. I was checking my phone all day. But when he came out, I was so happy I could cry.”
Inter Miami was established in 2018, making it one of the newer teams competing in Major League Soccer in the US. It was launched with the backing of former Manchester United FC, Real Madrid CF and LA Galaxy star David Beckham, who’s a co-owner.
Messi joined the club last year. Billionaire Jorge Mas, Inter Miami’s managing owner, said in a July interview that its value could reach $1.5 billion within a year.
“In the short term, this ‘PR nightmare’ might hurt the team’s reputation,” said Jan Boehmer, assistant professor of sports management at the University of Michigan. “However, those negative effects are usually short-lived.”
--With assistance from Pei Li, Isabel Reynolds, Evelyn Yu and Jill Disis.
(Updates with context from Japan game.)
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