Lionel Messi Discusses Personal Ties with China in Video Explaining Absence from Hong Kong Match

Football superstar Lionel Messi recently released a video on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, in an attempt to clarify his absence from a recent soccer match in Hong Kong. This comes after a previous text statement he had made about the situation, which had caused some backlash. Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami, is still facing questions and criticism regarding his decision to miss the game.

The absence of Messi on February 4 during the Inter Miami and Hong Kong XI match led to a considerable backlash. As a result, the Chinese authorities cancelled two soccer games for Argentina's national team in response to this matter.

The frustration grew when Messi was brought on as a substitute in the 60th minute during the team's match against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo a few days later.

Several Weibo users raised doubts about the rapid recovery of the star just three days after the Hong Kong game. The trending hashtag "medical miracle" was used sarcastically and gained over 1.3 million views.

Some individuals expressed anger towards what they perceived as a lack of regard for Hong Kong and China.

The absence of Messi was condemned by various Chinese state media sources, who also criticized the game's host for their inadequate organization.

During the video on Monday, Messi refuted claims that he skipped the game for political reasons and restated that he was unable to attend due to an aggravated adductor that had worsened the day prior in Hong Kong.

On Monday evening, the Weibo search rankings were dominated by a video post from Messi, which received an overwhelming response of over 20,000 comments and 200,000 likes within just one hour.

The comments section contains mostly positive sentiments and a strong liking towards his video response. Nonetheless, a minority of sarcastic comments still doubt his motive of avoiding loss in the Chinese market.

In a video, Messi expressed his deep and unique connection with China, stating that he has accomplished numerous things there. He also mentioned his desire to visit China again and sent well-wishes to the Chinese people.

The National Stadium in Tokyo was the setting for a friendly football match between Inter Miami and Vissel Kobe on February 7, where Argentine forward Lionel Messi played in the second half. The match was captured by media outlet CNN, who also reported on the potential backlash faced by Messi due to his ties with China and recent events in Hong Kong and Japan. An image of Messi in action was also shared as part of the report.

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The announcement made by Messi regarding his absence from the Hong Kong game was met with disapproval on Weibo, as one user criticized it for lacking sincerity.

According to the IP address recorded, the statement was posted in Sichuan province, China, which is approximately 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) away from Tokyo. This has caused ridicule among internet users. The usage of major social media platforms in China mandates users to display their IP address location.

The intense attention towards Messi is a recent demonstration of how criticism towards companies or famous figures can rapidly escalate in China's strongly patriotic online community. This can potentially have significant consequences for businesses in the country's large consumer market.

Instances of sharp public statements have been made by China's government agencies, including the so-called "wolf-warrior" diplomats.

The occurrence is happening at a time when Hong Kong is striving to improve its reputation as a global center, despite facing growing interference from mainland China. The Chinese government has been exerting more control over the city and its governing body since the large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

Amid increasing public and official outrage over Messi's absence, the organizers of the Hong Kong match, Tatler XFEST, have decided to offer a 50% refund on tickets to fans. This decision is expected to result in a loss of $7.1 million for the company, leaving them with nearly $5.5 million in losses.

According to a report by CNN, Simone McCarthy and Chris Lau were contributors to the report.