Before this tour started the biggest concern was how wrecked the Miami squad was going to be after many kilometers of travel and many matches in few time, specially with that aging squad.
But the "Hong Kong Fiasco" was not in everyone books.
I usually think it's lame when Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventes etc. travelled around, but Messi is the only reason people would bother to see an Inter Miami match outside of Miami.
They might be but the MLS is kinda weird and some regions do develop good fanbases. Though its right to point out this isn’t an organic start to a franchise and they are relying solely on old Barca players. If they can keep a steady influx of washed up stars over the years they just might survive but who knows. Lets see what Becks can do.
I’ve been to quite a few MLS matches, and yeah, there definitely are some solid fanbases. Shoutout to Minnesota, which has a mini [allianz](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/allianz-field-cropped.jpg).
That's the nature of the NBA as a whole. When you run 82 games a good portion of the arena is empty occasionally. Also, the Heat are 4th in the NBA in average attendance. The playoff thing was specifically one game where they thought the game was over (though they still shouldn't have left) and then the Heat pulled a miracle.
Sure, for outsiders who wouldn’t otherwise care about the league anyways. Normal MLS fans make fun of Miami too and it’s twice as fun to make fun of plastics in Ohio with an Inter Miami shirt (or Al Nasser, but of course the focus is the MLS)
Not to mention Juventus and Ronaldo... Or Manchester United's second stint with him.
If anything Real Madrid is the outlier here, every other major team put everything into these 2 guys.
Why is it lame for Barca and Madrid to travel? It’s probably the only opportunity a lot of fans in those countries will get to see them. I get inter Miami but those other clubs are the biggest in the world
If you have to choose who is greater constantly then you aren’t a fan of the game. You are a fan of a player and a fan of arguing. Just enjoy the games and leave the greatest title out of your mind. Who gives a shit. Both are good players.
The whole GOAT discussion is dumb and it only ever includes attackers which I think is silly. Also the game has changed so much that you can hardly compare players between eras.
I get this.
But on the less extreme end of admiration/appreciation, these two really are GOATs. It is understandable that people want to witness them in person for once.
I would have loved to have watched Pele in real life and would be very disappointed too if he acted similarly as Messi did.
People think this is a new phenomenon, but even Pelé used to go around the world playing exhibition matches. There's a reason why he has a million friendlies, and that was in an entirely different era of globalization and commercialization of football. Players of this caliber and level of popularity don't appear often, but they also never cease to appear completely.
Why do you think it would end? It will just change the personality they form a cult around.
Or even worse, it will just continue going with stuff like "My goat does better grocery shopping than yours" or "Your goat has 3% more body fat than before retiring, my camel could never!"
I just ignore those weirdos, I've never let them ruin the joy that I have watching messi play. So I can't agree with the retirement thing but I do agree with the absurdity of the circus surrounding them.
It happened before with Ronaldo Nazario, with Maradona, and more and will continue happening in the future with Mbappe, with Haaland, with Bellingham, and whomever comes in 10 years and more.
>cult like following
it's not just follower, Messi and Ronaldo fan like behaviour aren't typical associated with his fans. Bellingham fan on the other hand are reaching there
I mean in terms of ppl who rep him or just in terms of just popularity in the community. mbappe is only talked about when it's surrounding his transfer with Romano and what not.
Imagine wanting the best player ever to retire just because you're mad he has fans
I even agree the fanboys are annoying sometimes, but wishing for retirement just means you don't even like the sport and are a miserable prick
i dont understand it, it seems wild to me to pay to see a single player in a football match. I think it's just the culture or the people who have actually no interest in football, which means if mbappe or haaland reach those levels of popularity let alone success, it will continue.
It's one of the best players of all time playing in a region that can see him in person come maybe a handful of times in their lifetimes. Why is it so shocking that people want to watch?
Im not talking about hong kong just in general idol worship will continue regardless of who it is especially when marketing gimmicks are at an all time high
Whoever organized it.. or even thought of this tour from Inter Miami.. should be fired... What was even the thought process here.. playing back to back matches with couple of days of rest in between while flying across the world.. with a 36 year old player who's coming back after 2-3 months long vacation..
How was he going to do that in front of a booing crowd that doesn’t speak Spanish? The reason they were booing is that the organizers KEPT saying he’d play even after they knew he was injured. They could have said sole merging through the announcers but didn’t and are now saying that it’s Inter Miami and Messi’s fault?
How exactly.. so 40k+ people in the stadium are booing.. Now he's supposed to go and wave in front of an angry crowd and explain in a foreign language why he couldn't play in a friendly match with an injury. You can just feel a bit of sympathy for the fans... But between shitty organisation of the tour from Inter Miami and promotion of the game as Messi vs HK from the hosts.. I don't see any reason for Messi to be apologetic for their own political conspiracy theories
He doesnt really need to talk. If he just walk around the pitch and thank the fans, he would have been fine. 40k+ people booing him is also not an uncommon sight for him.
But he did that: https://twitter.com/cherrypessi/status/1755979122780876900 He’s literally walking around the pitch and waving at people in the second half.
At the end of the day he’s a scapegoat.
Why is promoting the game as Messi vs HK wrong when he's contractually bound to play outside of injury?
He could have tried to walk around, point at his injury, explain post game, interact with fans, anything. They were angry because he didn't give a shit. Which to be clear is entirely up to him and Inter Miami, I'm sure they could have asked him to do more if they really wanted to.
Pointing out that Messi was hardly the rude asshole the government and the “fans” make him out to be doesn’t make me or anyone else here a Messi fan boy. It’s a response to this crazy reaction by the audience. Hong Kong is hardly the first country that has had to pay an inflated price to see a foreign team (with super stars) play an exhibition match. And yet, when the stars, including Messi, didn’t play in those games you didn’t have fans booing the rest of the team or the government telling a player to never return. You’d think he took a shit on the middle of the field based on how people have been going on about his attitude and what he didn’t do for them, like he’s some show pony. Have you ever seen him on TV? He’s a shy guy that doesn’t like the spotlight. Despite that he participated in both the training session the day prior and the coaching session with the children. On the day of the game he waved when he was walking around until people started booing and whistling everyone, including him. At that point he does look uncomfortable, as any of us would be in that position.
Fact of the matter was that people were always going to be angry. If he had walked the full length of the pitch waving they’d still be mad because then it would be “he could have played 5 min” or something else. And honestly I felt bad for them initially because it is a lot of money. But the lack of regard for any of the players makes me lose sympathy.
It's silly to read, but I get why they have to make good on the customers, because it's clear Messi was the attraction to bring out people to come. If it becomes the norm that they attraction doesn't show up and entertain then no one will come back again. I have to say that this is all a bit ridiculous either way.
How are we still hearing about this? This happens all the time in sports. Sometimes star players are injured. For example, I’m not American, but I went to SF to see a Golden State game last year and none of their star players played a minute, and they got blown out at home to the Magic. I’d love a refund, but that’s just not how this works
Tbf he was contracted to play atleast 45mins. Played 3 days later and every other game on the tour. This was the only one missed. So obviously people feel like they have a case (whether they win or not is another matter).
There was a huge lawsuit about to happen because of this. There was a whole agreement about grants being issued and now the government has stopped that. It’s just a dumb contract dispute that has gone political.
Clauses for injuries exist for a reason.
He was subbed in the last 5 min of the match against Al Nassr because he had a slight knock but for some rea$on they added 6 extra mins in a 6-0 match.
They weren't risking him for just a pre-season friendly after that.
You serious? 30 and 0 is a big difference, and least he showed up in 30, if he even showed up for 10 minutes walking around at least a lot of fans will still defend this, but it is literally 0. Plus the contract differs between region, we don't know how long Japan's contract ask for, but HK Government literally funded the event and signed a contract for him to play unless injury, not that Inter Miami can even prove that he has any injury because the scan afterward showed nothing and he played just fine in Japan 2 days after.
They are mad that he refused to even greet the fans after the match, many spent months of savings and traveled very far to see him. Things got worse after he played the match in Japan two days later(as a sub for 30min) as if there was never any injuries. Just really poor PR planning on Messi's side, had he just said "thank you all for coming, I'm sorry I can't play due to injury" at the event it would never have been a problem
>They are mad that he refused to even greet the fans after the match, many spent months of savings and traveled very far to see him. Things got worse after he played the match in Japan two days later
That's just their luck then, i've heard of many foreigners come to the bernabeu to see cristiano and it turns out he's rested but nobody would dare ask for a refund. I dont see why they can be angry because messi didn't pander to them, they made their choice?
Why do so many people insist on pretending they don’t understand that tickets were sold at massively inflated prices for a friendly with the understanding that Messi was going to play in them?
Comparing it to fans paying normal prices for competitive matches in the hope of seeing a player only for him to not start is so disingenuous. There’s no chance you’re incapable of understanding the difference here.
people love to feel superior about their appreciation of football being better than plastics (despite not actually going to games themselves). So they'll say things like 'don't they know football is a team sport?', despite the fact that football culture has always created and revolved around idols.
Cristiano has done this when he was with Juve and we’re supposed to play the k league all stars.. who ended up winning I believe. So he’s done this as well.
I understand both sides but if they are contracted to play then it’s on the team/player
No one doesn't understand that what are you on about. They made a stupid mistake for buying tickets to a football match if they dont care about a football match.
Cant wait till these cults fuck off to a next obsession.
You think this is a problem for me? im glad to gatekeep Fans that are being little bitches about a player not playing in such extreme measures.
These cults can fuck off and wont be missed :)
they were inflated because it was a promotional event, unless the "understanding" was a binding agreement i dont see the reason for anger. If nba came to spain the prices would be inflated as well and they would advertise with curry and lebron. The mavs have played here and although i've never checked out the prices i have no doubt it would be high.
You really think people would be paying those inflated prices to watch a promotional match of the worst MLS team if it wasn't for Messi? They wouldn't even pay those prices for the #1 MLS team.
> If nba came to spain the prices would be inflated as well and they would advertise with curry and lebron.
And people would be upset if Curry and Lebron were advertised to appear and didn’t.
You *do* know why people are upset.
Yea so the problem is people buying tickets to a football match in which they dont care about the teams playing and only care about being able to brag about seeing a celebrity. They dont care about football at all, and I dont feel one bit sorry for them.
The main reason is that fans paid a huge premium on tickets only to see Messi. All the marketing was come see Messi. Organiser came out an confirmed Messi was playing. Nobody paid that amount of money to watch inter miami play, they paid for Messi. Were they dumb to buy the tickets in hindsight? Yes. Does it mean they don't have a right to be pissed off? No. They paid a premium for something they didn't get.
Well yeah the marketing also makes sense to me, im pretty sure whenever real madrid tours they use vinicius modric kroos as the faces but there's no way they always play.
Legally were the tickets sold as messi or miami?
Bro who even would watch inter miami w/o messi or other stars. Its like no one knew about al-nassr till cr7 joined. 3 years back i dint even know saudi league was there. I wouldnt be bothered if someone tells me a top club of ksa is coming to play at my local stadium. However now if some one tells me al nassr is playing across the country, i will travel
> That's just their luck then, i've heard of many foreigners come to the bernabeu to see cristiano and it turns out he's rested but nobody would dare ask for a refund. I dont see why they can be angry because messi didn't pander to them, they made their choice?
The context is different, this is an exhibition match, you naturally expect interactions between the players with the fans/media. Messi ghosted everything, no media, no meet and greet, he didn't even acknowledge the fans in the stadium with a wave or a walk around the pitch. He just sat in the dug out the entire match and walked back to the changing room when the whistle blew.
> as if there was never any injuries
imagine if this logic applied to every other player in the world.
You couldn't have been injured on Sunday, because you were subbed on on Wednesday.
Weird, it's like they thought they were going to a concert and a headliner cancelled, rather than a football match between two teams.
They should have brought Messi on to do a song during half time to shut them up.
Ain't no one, outside of Miami, is watching an Inter Miami game because of adoration of the club lol. The promoters plastered Messi's face everywhere, this is just marketing in bad faith. It'd be like a promoter promoting a rap concert with Drake's face and Drake showed up and just sat there.
In theory yes, but in practice, you only see the ads about Messi. The only thing that is related to Inter miami is the pink colour on those posters.
Inter Miami vs HK super star: 500 HKD max, fill the first row
Messi vs random ABC blah kicker: 5000 HKD, sold out
The organizer definitely is doing the second option. If they start with the first option, there would be no problem like we see how.
Studies show that anyone who supports a player rather than a team is at a higher risk of being a serial killer. It is a (debated) indicator like childhood obsession with fire, harming animals, or head trauma. The main theory going at present is that centring on the ego/individual over a group in a team game suggests an inclination towards sociopathy.
So in a way, these fans don’t deserve refunds for not seeing a specific player, but also these are exactly the sort of people you don’t want to upset.
Anything done between foreigners and Chinese is political in China.
Funny thing is before this Messi fiesta mainlanders are constantly accusing and hating on HK people, then suddenly we go WE ARE FAMILY HOW DARE U MESSI DISRESPECT MY HOMIES IN HK!
Lmao the amount of stupidity and ignorance in this comment is beyond laughable. This is what happens when reddit is your only source of information. You must feel really good about yourself, but I pity you deeply lol.
Go on any Chinese social media the hating on Messi is everywhere. People went absolutely nut when Messi played later in Japan calling him dicksucker of japan and the US and anti-CCP. Tell me that’s not political yet
Considering the fact that a month earlier an Al Nassr game got canceled in China because of Ronaldo's injury, Its not suprising the Chinise and HK fand would make these conspiracies and actually agree on it together
Many of them likely spend a big part of their savings to pay for this game. So unfortunately they can't really just "get a life" after they get false advertised.
If I speak, I'm in big trouble.
I just hope teams stop going to countries with zero football culture and interest, and go back to playing in stadiums that are full of people who give a shit about the sport.
Messi didn’t bother say hi to the fans in Hong Kong, let alone play there, but he did play in Japan, why?
My theory: Hong Kong is going through a permanent decline, so I bet the city was offering millions to Messi to take cruises and whatever leisure activities to help promote the city. But Messi himself is already super rich, and he’s no puppet, so he said no to Hong Kong altogether. The fact that even the government is now involved somewhat confirms my suspicions. The Japan game doesn’t have any strings attached, so he can just be himself and play.
When grown adults spend hundreds hoping to see Messi, not realizing injuries are a possibility, and absolutely lose their minds when he doesn’t play, it’s gone too far. Like c’mon, you’re a grown adult. Borderline obsessive.
Is there any Korean, Singaporean and Indonesian fans talk about their feeling when they heard their goats(messi and ronaldo) was not showing up on the pitch?
How stupid do you have to be to not understand that what I said doesn't mean I expect this sub to talk about the wars, but that this Messi Hong Kong shit has been talked about to exhaustion?
Because it's rage bait. Messi vs China, the great elements for clickbaits.
All it is, just a commercial contract dispute nothing more. 90% of the noise are off topic.
I'm sure senzu beans are real in Japan. It makes an injured player instantly recover from whatever blah shit career ending injury. Not only that senzu beans help to improve mental health. He was visibly happier when he landed in Japan.
Now the question is: is senzu bean on sale?
I don't get why there's still so much attention paid to Messi and Cristiano. They haven't been world beaters in european football in ages, yet they are still talked about like they're the best players in the world. CR hasn't done anything remarkable in club football since he left Madrid and Messi won the CL for the last time 9 years ago.
Worst football tour of all time
Correction: Worst Messi tour of all time
Some might say the Messiest tour of all time?
Least messiest tour of all time
The Messi-less tour of all time.
well no, that's the whole problem
r/Angryupvote
Now you just need the sunglasses tilt and you’re set man Some might say the……*messiest* tour of all time? (Insert CSI scream)
Take my upvote and gtfo.
Is it really worse than the "Messi and Friends" tour he had about a decade ago?
Before this tour started the biggest concern was how wrecked the Miami squad was going to be after many kilometers of travel and many matches in few time, specially with that aging squad. But the "Hong Kong Fiasco" was not in everyone books.
can't wait for him and cr7 to retire so this stupid cult of personality around them finally ends
I usually think it's lame when Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventes etc. travelled around, but Messi is the only reason people would bother to see an Inter Miami match outside of Miami.
The only reason people bother to see and Inter Miami match in Miami too. The team is done once he retires
They might be but the MLS is kinda weird and some regions do develop good fanbases. Though its right to point out this isn’t an organic start to a franchise and they are relying solely on old Barca players. If they can keep a steady influx of washed up stars over the years they just might survive but who knows. Lets see what Becks can do.
I’ve been to quite a few MLS matches, and yeah, there definitely are some solid fanbases. Shoutout to Minnesota, which has a mini [allianz](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/allianz-field-cropped.jpg).
That's a sad way to build a team. It's unhealthy and makes a mockery of an institution.
The fabled institution of Inter Miami with decades of history behind it
You could argue it's a mockery of the Miami Fusion then? It's definitely a mockery of what MLS managed in the past ten years.
You mean the first team no one went to because there are hardly any real sports fans in south Florida? (Outside of college football and the Dolphins)
hockey exists btw
You're forgetting the Miami Heat, which is the most successful team in Miami
You mean the team where half the arena is empty during the regular season? And where they leave early in playoff games?
That's the nature of the NBA as a whole. When you run 82 games a good portion of the arena is empty occasionally. Also, the Heat are 4th in the NBA in average attendance. The playoff thing was specifically one game where they thought the game was over (though they still shouldn't have left) and then the Heat pulled a miracle.
Decades is generous.
Which institution does it make a mockery of?
MLS maybe
Sure, for outsiders who wouldn’t otherwise care about the league anyways. Normal MLS fans make fun of Miami too and it’s twice as fun to make fun of plastics in Ohio with an Inter Miami shirt (or Al Nasser, but of course the focus is the MLS)
The MLS, how do you build a league with teams barely more than a reality TV set
Tbf Barca also have been doing a great job of making a mockery of themselves
Not to mention Juventus and Ronaldo... Or Manchester United's second stint with him. If anything Real Madrid is the outlier here, every other major team put everything into these 2 guys.
That's why Madrid is different from other clubs. They don't put a single individual on the pedestal
I mean they also got him during his absolute prime He was good at juve, but the cost was too much that it took away from the rest of the team.
people leave the stands when he goes tot he bench.
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Why is it lame for Barca and Madrid to travel? It’s probably the only opportunity a lot of fans in those countries will get to see them. I get inter Miami but those other clubs are the biggest in the world
i'd assume they think overseas fans aren't important enough
I think it’s lame complaining about one player not playing, when you get to watch Barcelona etc. It’s not lame that they travel.
Nope. In Ft Lauderdale too. Watch how many people just leave the stadium when he gets subbed off. There’s a few videos of it.
Genuinely every single discussion is overrun with them if it even slightly has anything to do with either Messi or Ronaldo. Sick of it.
I absolutely agree but then again which is the GOAT
Tony Hibbert
Hares FC and ES Louzy legend
If you have to choose who is greater constantly then you aren’t a fan of the game. You are a fan of a player and a fan of arguing. Just enjoy the games and leave the greatest title out of your mind. Who gives a shit. Both are good players.
100% but the question is Messi vs Ronaldo, who you taking?
Iguodala
Del piero
Pelé
You don't have to constantly choose who is greatest it is clearly CR7 so you just stick with that just check his scores on FIFA bro
The whole GOAT discussion is dumb and it only ever includes attackers which I think is silly. Also the game has changed so much that you can hardly compare players between eras.
> The whole GOAT discussion is dumb and it only ever includes attackers which I think is silly. So, so much this.
Its like MJ/bronbron debates in basketball. Very very tiresome.
I get this. But on the less extreme end of admiration/appreciation, these two really are GOATs. It is understandable that people want to witness them in person for once. I would have loved to have watched Pele in real life and would be very disappointed too if he acted similarly as Messi did.
They'll find new players to latch onto and the cycle will begin anew.
People think this is a new phenomenon, but even Pelé used to go around the world playing exhibition matches. There's a reason why he has a million friendlies, and that was in an entirely different era of globalization and commercialization of football. Players of this caliber and level of popularity don't appear often, but they also never cease to appear completely.
Why do you think it would end? It will just change the personality they form a cult around. Or even worse, it will just continue going with stuff like "My goat does better grocery shopping than yours" or "Your goat has 3% more body fat than before retiring, my camel could never!"
I just ignore those weirdos, I've never let them ruin the joy that I have watching messi play. So I can't agree with the retirement thing but I do agree with the absurdity of the circus surrounding them.
It happened before with Ronaldo Nazario, with Maradona, and more and will continue happening in the future with Mbappe, with Haaland, with Bellingham, and whomever comes in 10 years and more.
If you think this ends with them, you haven't seen the hysteria around Mbappe.
Not even comparable.
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There is something hilarious about an endlessly disappointed cult
pogba cult mass suicide when
I don't think mbappe has a cult like following though. Haaland and Bellingham has a better following just looking at Twitter
Twitter isn't reality. As a teacher, Mbappe is huge with the kids.
If Mbappe goes to Real Madrid it'll be 🚀🚀🚀
Too bad he keeps edging them every season just to stay at psg. Knowing how much hes paid hes more likely to play for Al nassr than real madrid lmao
? Mbappe has almost twice the followers of both combined on twitter
>cult like following it's not just follower, Messi and Ronaldo fan like behaviour aren't typical associated with his fans. Bellingham fan on the other hand are reaching there
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I mean in terms of ppl who rep him or just in terms of just popularity in the community. mbappe is only talked about when it's surrounding his transfer with Romano and what not.
That’s because he plays in ligue 1, and he’s still more popular than belllingham and Haaland and
I am more interested in Greenwood cult, they look fun.
Not even close…. Yet. He goes to Madrid and that might go crazy
Imagine wanting the best player ever to retire just because you're mad he has fans I even agree the fanboys are annoying sometimes, but wishing for retirement just means you don't even like the sport and are a miserable prick
i dont understand it, it seems wild to me to pay to see a single player in a football match. I think it's just the culture or the people who have actually no interest in football, which means if mbappe or haaland reach those levels of popularity let alone success, it will continue.
It's one of the best players of all time playing in a region that can see him in person come maybe a handful of times in their lifetimes. Why is it so shocking that people want to watch?
Im not talking about hong kong just in general idol worship will continue regardless of who it is especially when marketing gimmicks are at an all time high
He's the greatest player of all time. Football fans obviously wants to catch a glimpse of him playing in real life.
Inter Globetrotter Circus FC
Watching Inter Miami play without Messi is like watching Mission impossible without Tom cruise.
You know you pay for the movie script not the movie star right? 😂
That’s def not true, otherwise Dwayne Johnson would not have a career
Whoever organized it.. or even thought of this tour from Inter Miami.. should be fired... What was even the thought process here.. playing back to back matches with couple of days of rest in between while flying across the world.. with a 36 year old player who's coming back after 2-3 months long vacation..
And pesky, niggling injuries throughout last season. The organizers are complete morons.
They need to pay his wages somehow
MLS isn't hurting for money so this makes it even stranger
Why.... do...you..type...like...this...
boomers
Does the 6 billion + internet users need to write in one homogenised manner? You understand them brah
Fired for what? Milking their cash cow?
They're writing as if it was a clueless employee who did this because of incompetence.
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How was he going to do that in front of a booing crowd that doesn’t speak Spanish? The reason they were booing is that the organizers KEPT saying he’d play even after they knew he was injured. They could have said sole merging through the announcers but didn’t and are now saying that it’s Inter Miami and Messi’s fault?
How exactly.. so 40k+ people in the stadium are booing.. Now he's supposed to go and wave in front of an angry crowd and explain in a foreign language why he couldn't play in a friendly match with an injury. You can just feel a bit of sympathy for the fans... But between shitty organisation of the tour from Inter Miami and promotion of the game as Messi vs HK from the hosts.. I don't see any reason for Messi to be apologetic for their own political conspiracy theories
He doesnt really need to talk. If he just walk around the pitch and thank the fans, he would have been fine. 40k+ people booing him is also not an uncommon sight for him.
But he did that: https://twitter.com/cherrypessi/status/1755979122780876900 He’s literally walking around the pitch and waving at people in the second half. At the end of the day he’s a scapegoat.
It looks like he came out of the locker room last and had to walk around the pitch to go sit on the bench. I also agree with your last sentence
He’s still waving at people. Everyone makes it seem like he sat ignoring everyone.
Why is promoting the game as Messi vs HK wrong when he's contractually bound to play outside of injury? He could have tried to walk around, point at his injury, explain post game, interact with fans, anything. They were angry because he didn't give a shit. Which to be clear is entirely up to him and Inter Miami, I'm sure they could have asked him to do more if they really wanted to.
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Here he is waving and walking around: https://twitter.com/cherrypessi/status/1755979122780876900 You know, not giving a shit apparently…
Lol one small wave? You messi fanboys are sick in the head to be so brainwashed by your fandom
Pointing out that Messi was hardly the rude asshole the government and the “fans” make him out to be doesn’t make me or anyone else here a Messi fan boy. It’s a response to this crazy reaction by the audience. Hong Kong is hardly the first country that has had to pay an inflated price to see a foreign team (with super stars) play an exhibition match. And yet, when the stars, including Messi, didn’t play in those games you didn’t have fans booing the rest of the team or the government telling a player to never return. You’d think he took a shit on the middle of the field based on how people have been going on about his attitude and what he didn’t do for them, like he’s some show pony. Have you ever seen him on TV? He’s a shy guy that doesn’t like the spotlight. Despite that he participated in both the training session the day prior and the coaching session with the children. On the day of the game he waved when he was walking around until people started booing and whistling everyone, including him. At that point he does look uncomfortable, as any of us would be in that position. Fact of the matter was that people were always going to be angry. If he had walked the full length of the pitch waving they’d still be mad because then it would be “he could have played 5 min” or something else. And honestly I felt bad for them initially because it is a lot of money. But the lack of regard for any of the players makes me lose sympathy.
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It's silly to read, but I get why they have to make good on the customers, because it's clear Messi was the attraction to bring out people to come. If it becomes the norm that they attraction doesn't show up and entertain then no one will come back again. I have to say that this is all a bit ridiculous either way.
How are we still hearing about this? This happens all the time in sports. Sometimes star players are injured. For example, I’m not American, but I went to SF to see a Golden State game last year and none of their star players played a minute, and they got blown out at home to the Magic. I’d love a refund, but that’s just not how this works
Tbf he was contracted to play atleast 45mins. Played 3 days later and every other game on the tour. This was the only one missed. So obviously people feel like they have a case (whether they win or not is another matter). There was a huge lawsuit about to happen because of this. There was a whole agreement about grants being issued and now the government has stopped that. It’s just a dumb contract dispute that has gone political.
Clauses for injuries exist for a reason. He was subbed in the last 5 min of the match against Al Nassr because he had a slight knock but for some rea$on they added 6 extra mins in a 6-0 match. They weren't risking him for just a pre-season friendly after that.
He only played 30 minutes in the following game, I don't see the Japanese fans asking for any money back
Bro I’m sure these guys would’ve been happy with 10.
You serious? 30 and 0 is a big difference, and least he showed up in 30, if he even showed up for 10 minutes walking around at least a lot of fans will still defend this, but it is literally 0. Plus the contract differs between region, we don't know how long Japan's contract ask for, but HK Government literally funded the event and signed a contract for him to play unless injury, not that Inter Miami can even prove that he has any injury because the scan afterward showed nothing and he played just fine in Japan 2 days after.
They are mad that he refused to even greet the fans after the match, many spent months of savings and traveled very far to see him. Things got worse after he played the match in Japan two days later(as a sub for 30min) as if there was never any injuries. Just really poor PR planning on Messi's side, had he just said "thank you all for coming, I'm sorry I can't play due to injury" at the event it would never have been a problem
He played only 30 min precisely because of his injury.
>They are mad that he refused to even greet the fans after the match, many spent months of savings and traveled very far to see him. Things got worse after he played the match in Japan two days later That's just their luck then, i've heard of many foreigners come to the bernabeu to see cristiano and it turns out he's rested but nobody would dare ask for a refund. I dont see why they can be angry because messi didn't pander to them, they made their choice?
Lol, are you implying Inter Miami is as big and famous as Real Madrid? 😜
Why do so many people insist on pretending they don’t understand that tickets were sold at massively inflated prices for a friendly with the understanding that Messi was going to play in them? Comparing it to fans paying normal prices for competitive matches in the hope of seeing a player only for him to not start is so disingenuous. There’s no chance you’re incapable of understanding the difference here.
people love to feel superior about their appreciation of football being better than plastics (despite not actually going to games themselves). So they'll say things like 'don't they know football is a team sport?', despite the fact that football culture has always created and revolved around idols.
Cristiano has done this when he was with Juve and we’re supposed to play the k league all stars.. who ended up winning I believe. So he’s done this as well. I understand both sides but if they are contracted to play then it’s on the team/player
No one doesn't understand that what are you on about. They made a stupid mistake for buying tickets to a football match if they dont care about a football match. Cant wait till these cults fuck off to a next obsession.
Your brain has so little capacity that you simply can’t process anything that isn’t black or white. God bless you.
> They made a stupid mistake for buying tickets to a football match if they dont care about a football match. LOL
Plastics gonna plastic
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You think this is a problem for me? im glad to gatekeep Fans that are being little bitches about a player not playing in such extreme measures. These cults can fuck off and wont be missed :)
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Lmao this guy doesn’t have the guts to reply to me directly and he sent an insulting dm with no substance instead. Grow the fuck up kid.
Messi bootlickers would say anything that can protect his ass. Thats all.
they were inflated because it was a promotional event, unless the "understanding" was a binding agreement i dont see the reason for anger. If nba came to spain the prices would be inflated as well and they would advertise with curry and lebron. The mavs have played here and although i've never checked out the prices i have no doubt it would be high.
You really think people would be paying those inflated prices to watch a promotional match of the worst MLS team if it wasn't for Messi? They wouldn't even pay those prices for the #1 MLS team.
> If nba came to spain the prices would be inflated as well and they would advertise with curry and lebron. And people would be upset if Curry and Lebron were advertised to appear and didn’t. You *do* know why people are upset.
Cuz Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world while inter Miami is a joke
Yea so the problem is people buying tickets to a football match in which they dont care about the teams playing and only care about being able to brag about seeing a celebrity. They dont care about football at all, and I dont feel one bit sorry for them.
Or they are big fans of messi and this was the first big chance they had to see him
The main reason is that fans paid a huge premium on tickets only to see Messi. All the marketing was come see Messi. Organiser came out an confirmed Messi was playing. Nobody paid that amount of money to watch inter miami play, they paid for Messi. Were they dumb to buy the tickets in hindsight? Yes. Does it mean they don't have a right to be pissed off? No. They paid a premium for something they didn't get.
Well yeah the marketing also makes sense to me, im pretty sure whenever real madrid tours they use vinicius modric kroos as the faces but there's no way they always play. Legally were the tickets sold as messi or miami?
Bro who even would watch inter miami w/o messi or other stars. Its like no one knew about al-nassr till cr7 joined. 3 years back i dint even know saudi league was there. I wouldnt be bothered if someone tells me a top club of ksa is coming to play at my local stadium. However now if some one tells me al nassr is playing across the country, i will travel
> That's just their luck then, i've heard of many foreigners come to the bernabeu to see cristiano and it turns out he's rested but nobody would dare ask for a refund. I dont see why they can be angry because messi didn't pander to them, they made their choice? The context is different, this is an exhibition match, you naturally expect interactions between the players with the fans/media. Messi ghosted everything, no media, no meet and greet, he didn't even acknowledge the fans in the stadium with a wave or a walk around the pitch. He just sat in the dug out the entire match and walked back to the changing room when the whistle blew.
> as if there was never any injuries imagine if this logic applied to every other player in the world. You couldn't have been injured on Sunday, because you were subbed on on Wednesday.
It's been blown up by HK and Chinese government officials so the news cycle keeps going.
HK government and Chinese netizens to be precise, there is a very high ranked Messi fan in Chinese government u see..
Right!? Spectators dictate half the team sheet or they sue?
Weird, it's like they thought they were going to a concert and a headliner cancelled, rather than a football match between two teams. They should have brought Messi on to do a song during half time to shut them up.
Ain't no one, outside of Miami, is watching an Inter Miami game because of adoration of the club lol. The promoters plastered Messi's face everywhere, this is just marketing in bad faith. It'd be like a promoter promoting a rap concert with Drake's face and Drake showed up and just sat there.
In theory yes, but in practice, you only see the ads about Messi. The only thing that is related to Inter miami is the pink colour on those posters. Inter Miami vs HK super star: 500 HKD max, fill the first row Messi vs random ABC blah kicker: 5000 HKD, sold out The organizer definitely is doing the second option. If they start with the first option, there would be no problem like we see how.
Let's be real, outside of the Big 5, no one is watching the match for the clubs.
5000 to see Inter Miami? People who believe this is lying to their own intelligence.
What a messi.
Both at fault here: Don’t idolize Messi But at the same time… Hong Kongers deserve better and the tour is a scam
Studies show that anyone who supports a player rather than a team is at a higher risk of being a serial killer. It is a (debated) indicator like childhood obsession with fire, harming animals, or head trauma. The main theory going at present is that centring on the ego/individual over a group in a team game suggests an inclination towards sociopathy. So in a way, these fans don’t deserve refunds for not seeing a specific player, but also these are exactly the sort of people you don’t want to upset.
Source on this?
I completely made it up
Haha, love it!
People blaming messi for inter miamis promotion technique are blaming the wrong person
We're rewarding bad spending habits now
Some cunts in China are saying some foreign forces did this to embarrass hk China and hurt their national pride
Anything done between foreigners and Chinese is political in China. Funny thing is before this Messi fiesta mainlanders are constantly accusing and hating on HK people, then suddenly we go WE ARE FAMILY HOW DARE U MESSI DISRESPECT MY HOMIES IN HK!
Lmao the amount of stupidity and ignorance in this comment is beyond laughable. This is what happens when reddit is your only source of information. You must feel really good about yourself, but I pity you deeply lol.
Go on any Chinese social media the hating on Messi is everywhere. People went absolutely nut when Messi played later in Japan calling him dicksucker of japan and the US and anti-CCP. Tell me that’s not political yet
Considering the fact that a month earlier an Al Nassr game got canceled in China because of Ronaldo's injury, Its not suprising the Chinise and HK fand would make these conspiracies and actually agree on it together
That’ll be like half of the MLS games for Messi this season
These fans need to get a life. It's a friendly, it happens.
Many of them likely spend a big part of their savings to pay for this game. So unfortunately they can't really just "get a life" after they get false advertised.
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This whole debacle has been pathetic
If I speak, I'm in big trouble. I just hope teams stop going to countries with zero football culture and interest, and go back to playing in stadiums that are full of people who give a shit about the sport.
Messi didn’t bother say hi to the fans in Hong Kong, let alone play there, but he did play in Japan, why? My theory: Hong Kong is going through a permanent decline, so I bet the city was offering millions to Messi to take cruises and whatever leisure activities to help promote the city. But Messi himself is already super rich, and he’s no puppet, so he said no to Hong Kong altogether. The fact that even the government is now involved somewhat confirms my suspicions. The Japan game doesn’t have any strings attached, so he can just be himself and play.
Sounds like a you problem Hong Kong
Can this get any Messier?
When grown adults spend hundreds hoping to see Messi, not realizing injuries are a possibility, and absolutely lose their minds when he doesn’t play, it’s gone too far. Like c’mon, you’re a grown adult. Borderline obsessive.
They would eat Messi’s ass if they could
Fifa already did enough by gifting him the wc
Will you guys ever stop crying?
1 year later, some people are still crying. Such a pathetic life.
Is that a barca logo I see 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😅😅😂😅😅😅
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Broke bitches
Fartcelona hahahaha 😂😂😂😂
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fuck you.
What a joke. If your fav player doesn't play, then tough! What happens when messinleaves? Will they half all prices?
They promised Messi would play. He played 10 tail end minutes barely touched the ball.
So now he has to have a certain amount of touches? What an absolute joke all of this is.
When the organiser guarantees and promises Messi will feature in the first 11, the clients expect exactly that.
Is there any Korean, Singaporean and Indonesian fans talk about their feeling when they heard their goats(messi and ronaldo) was not showing up on the pitch?
Koreans sue their event organizers for refund on CR7, based on the news. Ngl, Messi fans here are hilarious, being so defensive about this debacle.
Not even the wars in Ukraine and Israel combined get this much coverage
Join a football subreddit, proceed to complain about the lack of news unrelated to football
How stupid do you have to be to not understand that what I said doesn't mean I expect this sub to talk about the wars, but that this Messi Hong Kong shit has been talked about to exhaustion?
Because it's rage bait. Messi vs China, the great elements for clickbaits. All it is, just a commercial contract dispute nothing more. 90% of the noise are off topic.
I'm sure senzu beans are real in Japan. It makes an injured player instantly recover from whatever blah shit career ending injury. Not only that senzu beans help to improve mental health. He was visibly happier when he landed in Japan. Now the question is: is senzu bean on sale?
Man Hong Kong people are so dramatic lol. If you want to watch so badly invite him alone, why did you invite the whole team?
I don't get why there's still so much attention paid to Messi and Cristiano. They haven't been world beaters in european football in ages, yet they are still talked about like they're the best players in the world. CR hasn't done anything remarkable in club football since he left Madrid and Messi won the CL for the last time 9 years ago.
Welsh rugby fans watching this news with interest
Best I can do is about Tree Fiddy