A sell-out crowd paid from 880 Hong Kong dollars to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner in action on February 4 in an Inter Miami tour match against a Hong Kong select XI.But the 36-year-old Argentine remained glued to the bench with an injury, drawing boos from the crowd—and then a furore in China, which saw his absence as a political snub.
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However, the 36-year-old Argentine captain has not recovered after tweaking a hamstring during Miami’s 3-1 victory over Nashville in the Concacaf Champions Cup last week. “The captain of Argentina, Lionel Messi, will not be able to be in the squad for the friendlies in USA due to a minor injury to the hamstring of his right leg suffered in his team’s match against Nashville SC,” the Argentine federation said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.