Messi hopes to play in Tokyo friendly

TOKYO. — After disappointing a legion of fans in Hong Kong with a no-show on the pitch at the weekend, Lionel Messi left open the possibility of playing in Inter Miami’s friendly in Tokyo, saying he left “much better” than he did a few days ago.

The Argentine’s benching for the highly-anticipated match in front of a sellout crowd at Hong Kong Stadium has turned into a public relations debacle for his Major League Soccer side and organisers of the local event.

Speaking to media for the first time since the team and their co-owner David Beckham were booed off the field, Messi said yesterday it was “disappointing” that he was unable to play, citing swelling in his adductor muscle.

“In Hong Kong, we had an open-door training session and I went out because there was such a big crowd there and there was a clinic with the kids, and I wanted to be there and participate,” the 36-year-old told a press conference at a Tokyo hotel.

“But the truth is that the discomfort was still there and it was very difficult for me to play.

“I can understand that people were looking forward to it and I hope that there will be another opportunity for me to play in Hong Kong.”

The Inter Miami skipper, who led Argentina to a World Cup triumph in 2022, was coy about whether he would play in today’s friendly against J-League champions Vissel Kobe.

“For tomorrow, I don’t know, we’ll need to see how it goes in training today,” he added. “We still don’t know if I would be able to or not, but I feel much better than I did a few days ago and really want to be able to play.”

Messi spoke at the press conference alone after appearances by Beckham, coach Tata Martino and team mates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez were cancelled at the last minute.

Unlike in Hong Kong, scores of tickets were still available a day before the Tokyo match, after going on sale in late December.