Lionel Messi on Monday utilized one of China’s prominent social media platforms to confront the speculation surrounding his absence from a recent Inter Miami friendly held in Hong Kong.
Following this, there was a swift and fervent response from Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians, and fans, expressing dissatisfaction and frustration over Messi’s,
participation in a friendly match in Tokyo just three days later, after his absence in the Hong Kong fixture.
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Messi said in a video
“I’ve read and heard many things that have been said after the game in Hong Kong.
I wanted to record this video and give you the true version so nobody has to continue reading false stories.”
“I’ve heard people say that I didn’t want to play for political reasons and many other reasons that are totally untrue.
“Had that been the case I wouldn’t have even travelled to Japan or visited China, as I have many times.
Since the start of my career I’ve had a very close and special relationship with China.”
Messi, 36, repeated the reason for his absence from the highly anticipated game against a local League XI in Hong Kong on Feb. 4.
“As I said in the press conference, I had an inflamed adductor and I couldn’t play in the first game in Saudi Arabia, which is when I felt it.”
“In the second game I tried to play for a bit, but it got worse. Then on the day before the game [in Hong Kong] I tried to train and made an effort for all those who had come to watch training.
“It felt a bit better a few days later and that’s why I played for a bit in Japan to prepare fitness-wise for everything to come because I needed to play and get back up to speed.”
