Lionel Messi: as Hong Kong chases refunds, he plays 60 minutes for Inter Miami against Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys
- Messi starts Miami’s preseason game against his boyhood club and lasts an hour, having sat out Hong Kong match then returned to action in Japan
- US club’s preseason ‘was a challenge’ and ‘not the best’, coach Gerardo Martino says
Lionel Messi appeared to be over the injury blamed for his Hong Kong no-show as he played for Inter Miami against Newell’s Old Boys, but his coach admitted their club’s eventful preseason had been “not the best”.
He lasted until the 60th minute before being replaced in his side’s final preseason outing, which finished 1-1, and delighted home fans ahead of next week’s start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign.
Inter’s Argentine coach Gerardo Martino said he “spoke to [Messi] after the game and he was fine”.
“We had talked about playing between 45 and 60 minutes,” Martino said.
“I see Messi fully recovered. We take him little by little because the idea is that he arrives well prepared for the [MLS season]. From what I saw today on the field and the way he accelerated and arrived at the area, I really saw that.”
It was an emotional occasion for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who grew up supporting Old Boys and played for the Argentine club as a youth from 1995 to 2000 before starting his senior career with Barcelona.
The 36-year-old had cited an adductor injury for his failure to play in Hong Kong, after which the city’s consumer watchdog logged 1,300 complaints in the first five days from ticket-holders, accounting for claims totalling over HK$8 million (US$1 million).
Event organiser Tatler Asia last week announced a 50 per cent refund to those who bought match-day tickets via official channels.
Messi had also played for only seven minutes of Miami’s previous match in Saudi Arabia against Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al Nassr.
After a scoreless first half against Newell’s, his side led thanks to a Shanyder Borgelin goal in the 64th minute.
Messi’s Hong Kong no-show: what contract said, when government knew, any refund?
The Haitian forward leapt highest to head home an inviting corner kick delivered by Finnish midfielder Robert Taylor.
Newell’s equalised in the 83rd minute when midfielder Franco Martin Diaz found the bottom-right corner from the heart of the penalty area.
Miami will open their MLS fixtures at home to Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, having won only one of their seven preseason games – ironically their disastrous outing in Hong Kong.
Martino acknowledged that the tightly scheduled globe-spanning tour – in which Miami struggled with injuries and encountered hostility over the one suffered by Messi – “was a challenge”.
“From the football side it was not the best preseason,” Martino said. “Nor from the competitiveness side fundamentally, because we did not have a complete squad to face the number of games we had … because of some injuries.
“We were aiming more to come out of the preseason unscathed, to have the squad come back relatively healthy.
“We’ve met the needs the club had and we have worked to the start of the season. I have high expectations of arriving well at the beginning of the competition.”
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
