Article author: North Wind Snow Forest
In the past two days, with Huo Qigang's statement of "demanding a public apology from Messi and the Miami team" on the hot search, the incident of "Messi not playing to play and playing with Hong Kong fans" has become the first hot topic of discussion among domestic and international netizens.
Because Miami International and Messi promised to play in a commercial match and then broke the contract, whether it is on the Internet or mainland platforms, the remarks of angrily scolding Messi and demanding a public apology from Messi and Miami International are mainstream.
Of course, there are also a very small number of voices who believe that "athletes' health comes first, and it is normal to miss games with injuries", and these voices believe that excessive criticism of Messi is "on the line".
As long as you sort out the whole process of the Hong Kong government's organization of this business competition and the signing of the contract with Miami International, and also understand Messi's "ice and fire" in Hong Kong and Japan, you can understand that Messi's tricking of Hong Kong this time is by no means a trivial matter in the football circle or sports circle.
Some "Messi fans" think that watching Messi's team is a carnival for fans, and if there is a feeling of "dissatisfaction" and "being harvested", it should be "fans who buy tickets" to be eligible to blame.
But the reality is that the commercial match between the Hong Kong All-Stars and Miami International is far from being as simple as a "private feast for Messi fans".
First of all, in order to organize and support this business competition, the Hong Kong government and all sectors of society have invested huge funds, resources and supporting services.
Since last year, Hong Kong's economy has encountered a cold winter, and the Hong Kong municipal government hopes to unite the people and promote consumption by organizing international competitions, which is a promising move.
For this game, the Hong Kong government invested 15 million yuan and 1 million yuan in venue rental fees.
In addition to tens of thousands of fans, Hong Kong's chief executive, the financial secretary and some former government officials all attended the game.
In comparison, actor Tony Leung and his wife, singer Deng Ziqi and other film and television stars are even more numerous.
Outside the stadium, Messi's promotional photos and videos are spread all over the high-rise buildings around Victoria Harbour, and it can be said that at the beginning of this year, Hong Kong's business card - Victoria Harbour has almost become "Macy's Port".
In the stadium, because Hong Kong is an international metropolis and visa-free for many Asian countries, the audience for this game is not only Hong Kong locals, of course, not only mainland tourists, but also Australian fans from Southeast Asia and even Australia.
Since Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi joined Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Miami, USA with sky-high contracts in 2022, they have all understood that their careers are coming to an end.
After the passing of the peak of their skills, they can still get super big contracts, these two non-"European giants" teams, of course, are interested in the global commercial value of the two, to put it bluntly, the "ability to sell tickets" in exhibition matches.
Many people secretly changed their concept, saying that it was the Miami International team that signed the commercial contract with the Hong Kong organizers, and as long as the team participated, it was not considered a breach of contract.
But can the Miami team, which does not have a "Messi" sign, sell it at a sky-high price? A ticket is more than 5,000 yuan, and if it is a fan from other places, including the round-trip fee, the per capita cost of watching this game will exceed 10,000 yuan.
If it is stated in advance that "Messi is injured and cannot play", can the tickets be so expensive? Can they still be sold out as soon as they are put on the shelves?
What's more, judging from the details of the contract disclosed by the Hong Kong government, Inter Miami promised Messi a clause in the contract that he would play at least 45 minutes.
If Messi has an injury, then it is not a "one-day emergency", and Inter Miami and Messi's team can communicate with the organizers and fans in advance of the game.
If Messi is determined to be unable to play due to injury, then the organizers will arrange for refunds and reimbursement of air tickets and accommodation expenses to out-of-town fans, which are also precedent.
However, the most criticized thing about the Miami International and American teams is not only the "fraudulent absence", but also the "impatience of the whole black face" and the lack of any "public statement and explanation".
This is not just indifference, but absolute contempt!
Friends who have followed Hong Kong in the past few years know that Hong Kong society is very diverse, and it is extremely difficult to reach a "unified consensus" on hot issues.
However, in the past two days, "angry Messi" has become a very unified voice on the inside and outside of the Internet, because the operation of Miami International and Messi's team has hurt everyone in the patriots, establishment, and liberals.
From the standpoint of the patriots, Messi not only "defrauded his absence", but also had no communication with his face during his stay in Hong Kong, which was in stark contrast to his flattery in Japan.
From the perspective of the establishment, even if it does not sublimate national feelings, then everything should be done according to the "spirit of contract", and things should be done according to input and dedication. Hong Kong has given Miami International enough "Real Madrid level" treatment, Messi football king treatment, and the contract terms also have at least 45 minutes to play, so not to talk about feelings and contracts, Miami International tramples on the cornerstone of the market economy.
From the perspective of liberals, they may reject government activities or political significance, and prefer to return to the free exchange of "people with people" with Messi, but Messi's entire trip to Hong Kong did not show a trace of "human care" Western-style image, and there was zero communication and zero explanation throughout the whole process.
For example, Miami International's global "gold-making" trip is too intensive, with the Hong Kong game on February 4, the Japan game on February 7, and the intensity of the two-game match in a week is almost an arrangement that only European giants will have in the middle of the season with "multi-front battles".
When European giants are facing multi-front battles in leagues and cups, it is indeed a normal tactical arrangement for ace players to choose certain games to "rotate and rest".
However, the "double game in a week" overwhelmed old players such as Messi and Su Ya, forcing them to "give up selectively", which is a problem with Miami International's own arrangement.
Miami International and Messi can't do two games a week, even if it's "45 minutes of play in an exhibition match", they don't want to deal with it, but they just arrange such a trip in order to make money, that is, there is no lower limit for making money, and they are not qualified to use it as an excuse for "reasonable rotation".
What is even more unacceptable is that Messi participated in a pre-match training match in Japan today and held a press conference.
Whether it is the state of interacting with Japanese fans or the explanation of "Hong Kong's absence", it makes people feel aggrieved.
Messi was finally absent from Hong Kong, and the official explanation of Miami was that the team doctor temporarily found "inflammation of the adductor muscles" before the start of the game.
Since the injury is used as an excuse, it is only three days apart that the Japan race will not be able to "return from injury" in a flash.
However, at the Japanese press conference, Messi emphasized that "he is not injured, and he feels a little uncomfortable when he does not play".
As soon as he arrived in Japan, the "injury" was healed, and the reason why Hong Kong could not play became a very metaphysical "uncomfortable".
In addition to being uncomfortable, Messi did not apologize or communicate with Hong Kong fans, but just said lightly: "I hope to play in Hong Kong next time".
Messi's understatement shows the confidence of his and Miami International's blatant breach of contract, because no matter what he does, as long as he "extends an olive branch" next time, the mainland and Hong Kong will still beg him to participate in the game.
Messi and Miami's behavior of "defrauding Hong Kong" is far more than Hong Kong, but also contains contempt for the huge domestic market behind it.
And some netizens are very strange, this time Messi's obvious disrespect for the Chinese people in Hong Kong has exploded domestic netizens, but the official and official media are very "low-key".
The reason why the official media is low-key is obviously because there are also organized companies in the mainland to squeeze their heads in order to arrange Miami's domestic business competition.
In addition, in March, the Argentine national team's exchange match with weak African countries was also arranged in the mainland to "absorb gold", in order to continue the harvest, it is obvious that not only "hardcore fans", but also a considerable "new comprador" force, do not want to see Messi's "collapsed house".
No matter how contemptuous, arrogant and perfunctory Messi is, there are still a large number of "sports compradors" in China who are counting on him to make money, and they will continue to maintain his "personality".
However, every time Messi makes money, it is an encroachment and mobilization of resources in transportation, security, media, social security and other aspects, so it is not "hardcore fans who are willing to eat" can explain to the resources of the whole society.
Our requirements are not high, only by making the contemptuous Messi become "no play" can we become at least standing in his eyes!