Lionel Messi took to one of China’s biggest social media platforms on Monday to respond to speculation about his non-appearance during a recent Inter Miami friendly match in Hong Kong.
Chinese state media, politicians and Hong Kong fans reacted angrily when the 36-year-old Argentine forward came off the bench during a friendly match in Tokyo three days later.
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Since then, Hangzhou and Beijing have said they will not host matches in Argentina in March, and now Messi has spoken in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
“I’ve read and heard a lot of things said after the Hong Kong match. I wanted to record this video and give you the true version so that no one has to keep reading false stories,” Messi said in footage posted on Weibo.
“I’ve heard people say I didn’t want to play for political reasons and many other reasons that are completely untrue. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have even traveled to Japan or visited China as I have done so many times. Since the beginning of my career, I have had a very close and special relationship with China.â€
Messi reiterated the reason for his absence from the highly anticipated match against a local League XI in Hong Kong on February 4. “As I said at the press conference, I had an inflamed adductor and couldn’t play in the first match in Saudi Arabia when I felt it. In the second game I tried to play for a while, but it kept getting worse. Then I tried to train the day before the race (in Hong Kong) and tried for everyone who came to training.
“A few days later it felt a little bit better so I played in Japan for a while to prepare myself fitness-wise for everything that was to come because I had to play and get back up to speed.”