40,000 tickets to watch Inter Miami’s training session on February 3 were sold out, creating an unprecedented football fever in Hong Kong.
Lionel Messi may not be at 100% performance because he is suffering from a hamstring injury. However, the attraction of the Argentine superstar has never cooled down.
On February 3, Inter Miami had an open training session at Hong Kong Stadium. The event attracted a large number of fans to watch. 40,000 tickets to watch the training session of Leo and his teammates were sold out, according to Goal.
A few hours before Messi strode onto the training field, thousands of fans lined up outside the stadium, chanting the name of the 2022 World Cup champion. Police had to block off the streets surrounding the Hong Kong Stadium to ensure safety. security, avoiding traffic congestion.
The moment Messi walked onto the training field, the atmosphere at Hong Kong Stadium seemed to explode. Fans warmly welcomed the owner of 8 Golden Balls.
In this training session, Messi mainly spent most of his time performing movements to help him protect his legs from persistent hamstring injuries. After that, the former Barca and PSG star participated in the exchange session with 80 lucky students.
Needless to say, fans are excited about Messi’s appearance in Asia. Many foreign fans also take the time to come watch Messi practice.
Li Weiyi, a 17-year-old Chinese student from Shenzhen, said: “This is the first time in my life I have seen Messi. I feel very excited. He means a lot to me. Messi has brought me to the world of football. This player also aroused my love for the king sport.”
Sally Liu, a 28-year-old student in Hong Kong, shared: “Messi has skillful personal techniques. Watching Leo play is always very interesting. Because Messi currently plays at Inter Miami, I don’t have many opportunities to follow him. So this is my last chance to see Messi roaming the field.”
On February 2, hundreds of fans gathered outside Inter Miami’s hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of the 2022 World Cup champion. According to Sally Liu, Messi is the best player of all time. “I cried when I saw Messi become world champion,” this student exclaimed.
In the Inter Miami squad there are many stars such as Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, but Messi is the factor that created the football fever in Hong Kong. Since before the MLS team came here to play, a traditional boat with pink sails of Inter Miami sailed around the harbor as a move to promote this big football event. Of course, the image of Messi’s face is indispensable on the boat.
According to Goal, tickets for the friendly match between Inter Miami and the Hong Kong national team were sold out in just one hour since they went on sale in December. Many stores also had a bumper income thanks to selling products such as Inter Miami jerseys, Keychain with Messi image.
On February 1, Inter Miami lost heavily to Al Nassr in a friendly match with a score of 0-6. Messi only entered the field for a few minutes at the end of the match because he had not recovered from his injury. Cristiano Ronaldo is also absent. Messi’s problem raises concerns that this player will miss the friendly match with Hong Kong taking place at 3:00 p.m. today (February 4).
However, Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said: “We will evaluate each player after practice, because the team has played many friendly matches in the past. As for Messi, of course Inter Miami will let him play as many minutes as possible, but the team needs to conduct more tests before making a final decision.”
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