Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates touched down in Hong Kong on Friday morning as their preseason tour around the world continued.
The MLS team was defeated 6-0 by Al-Nassr on Thursday evening, despite the Saudi team being without star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané in Riyadh.
Messi started that match on the bench, amid reports that he had had an MRI scan beforehand due to a possible injury.
However, he came on in the 83rd minute, with the score already 6-0, and played the rest of the match while his old nemesis Ronaldo was in the stands watching.
It remains to be seen how serious Messi’s injury is, but he reportedly felt some ‘discomfort’ in the aftermath of their friendly with Al-Hilal on Monday.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami landed in Hong Kong on Friday morning as their tour continues
The MLS team is currently on a world tour in preparation for the start of the new season
Messi reportedly went for an MRI scan in Saudi Arabia after suffering a blow on Monday
The crew posed for a photo on the airport tarmac as a horde of photographers waited
Luis Suarez addressed the media just hours after landing in the Asian country and was asked how it feels to be reunited with Messi in Miami.
“I am very happy, after many years of not playing together, to share not only the field but also everyday life with him,” he said.
‘To be able to enjoy this last stage that we have left behind us as football players and also as friends.’
The 36-year-old – a Champions League, Copa America and five-time La Liga winner – spent six years alongside Messi at Barcelona.
Luis Suarez admitted at a press conference how happy he was to be reunited with Messi
Hundreds of Messi fans gathered at the airport to greet their hero after arriving in Hong Kong
Miami is currently on a worldwide tour featuring them fly over 23,000 miles in preparation for the upcoming MLS season next month.
Before heading to Saudi Arabia, they played against the El Salvador national team and FC Dallas, and next week they will also face Hong Kong League XI and Vissel Kobe.
The club then returns to South Florida to play one final friendly match against Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club.
Miami, which also has Messi and Suarez’s former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, won the Leagues Cup last season but failed to qualify for the postseason.