Lionel Messi hopes to play in Tokyo after Hong Kong PR disaster
Al Jazeera
Argentinian superstar says he feels ‘much better’ after injury prevented him from playing in previous Inter Miami match – to the disappointment of Hong Kong fans.
Lionel Messi says he hopes to play Inter Miami’s final game of a preseason tour of Asia after his no-show in the team’s previous match in Hong Kong at the weekend disappointed a legion of football fans.
The Argentinian’s benching for the highly anticipated match in front of a sellout crowd at Hong Kong Stadium has turned into a public relations debacle for his Major League Soccer side and organisers of the local event.
Speaking to media for the first time since the team and their co-owner David Beckham were booed off the field, Messi said on Tuesday it was “disappointing” that he was unable to play, citing swelling in his adductor muscle.
“In Hong Kong, we had an open-door training session and I went out because there was such a big crowd there and there was a clinic with the kids, and I wanted to be there and participate,” the 36-year-old told a news conference at a Tokyo hotel.
“But the truth is that the discomfort was still there and it was very difficult for me to play.
