According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, although fans spend thousands of yuan to buy tickets, there is still no exact guarantee that Messi will appear during the Miami International Football Team's exhibition match next month. The highly anticipated match will be played at the Hong Kong Coliseum on February 4, with Inter Miami taking on local teams.
At the start of ticket sales last month, fans eagerly purchased tickets priced between HK$880 and HK$4,880, and the seats were all sold out in less than an hour and soon appeared on resale site Viagogo for a whopping HK$12,000 pair. However, as the match is one of the busy pre-season games for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami, there is no guarantee that the 36-year-old Messi will play a leading role or even participate in the game.
Michel Lamuniere, chairman and CEO of Tatler Asia, the competition's business partner, said: "Ultimately, it's up to the coach to decide who plays and for how long. "But obviously, Inter Miami has some important players who will be on the field." ”
Other players at Inter Miami could include Messi's former Barcelona team-mate and fellow Champions League winners Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
However, Lamuniere said Miami International's visit would help "reaffirm Hong Kong's status as Asia's world metropolis," a sentiment echoed by Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung.
"I think something big like this will attract tourists and put Hong Kong in the spotlight of the world," Yeung said. ”
In July and August last year, football fans in Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok witnessed clubs such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Roma touring during pre-season. However, Hong Kong did not welcome such visitors, as it was rumored that inviting an English Premier League club to Hong Kong would cost HK$39 million, sparking disgust among fans.
It is worth mentioning that Miami International's visit clashed with the Asian Cup final in Qatar, when the Hong Kong national team will also participate, and head coach Jon Anderson will be in charge. If Hong Kong perform well in the Asian Cup and advance to the quarter-finals, Anderson and some players will be asked to stay in the Middle East.
When asked which team Anderson would lead in the event of a clash, Hong Kong Football Association chairman Fok Kai-shan said the Asian Cup would be the top priority. "We want to put together the strongest squad against Inter Miami, but the Asian Cup is definitely number one," he said. ”