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Lionel Messi will play for Inter Miami in Hong Kong ‘save for illness or injury’
- Organisers coy on deal being in place to ensure star is on the pitch for exhibition match but government source disputes claim
- ‘Marquee players’ will feature at Hong Kong Stadium in February – which could include Messi but also the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba
Organisers were on Thursday coy as to whether superstar Lionel Messi will grace the field when Inter Miami visit Hong Kong for an exhibition match next month, claiming there is no deal in place, despite local fans forking out thousands of dollars for tickets.
However a senior government source disputed this, saying there were “contract terms specifying that Messi would play in the match, save for illness or injury”. The organisers would have to fulfil the contract, the source added.
Priced HK$880 to HK$4,880 (US$113 to US$624), the seats sold out in under an hour then promptly began appearing on resale site Viagogo for up to HK$12,000 a pair.
But with the match forming part of a packed preseason tour by the Major League Soccer club, co-owned by David Beckham, there are doubts over the 36-year-old Messi featuring prominently.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the decision of the coach to decide who is going to play and for how long,” said Michel Lamuniere, chairman and CEO of the match’s organiser Tatler Asia.
“But obviously, Inter Miami have some marquee players, and those marquee players will be on the pitch.”
Other players at Miami who could fall into that category include Messi’s former Barcelona teammates and fellow Uefa Champions League winners Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
However, Lamuniere said Miami’s visit would help to “reaffirm Hong Kong’s place as Asia’s world city” – sentiments echoed by Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung.
“I think major events like this one … could attract tourists as well as put Hong Kong on the map of the world and attract people’s attention,” Yeung said.
Asked if the city could compete with the ability of regional rivals Thailand and Singapore to attract high-profile sporting events and stars, Yeung said Hong Kong could lean on cultural events to help bring in crowds.
“We also have different types of major events, like Art Basel, and we have festival celebrations. So all these are actually major events that could attract tourists.”
In July and August last year, football fans in Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok saw Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Roma and a host of other clubs pass through during their preseason tours.
Hong Kong received no such visitors and balked at the reported HK$39 million fee requested to invite an English Premier League club to town.
The visit by Miami clashes with the AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar, featuring the Hong Kong national team, whose head coach Jorn Andersen has also been asked to oversee the squad for the February 4 exhibition game.
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Eric Fok Kai-shan, chairman of the city’s football association, on Thursday touted the exhibition as “a very special opportunity for our players”. But were Hong Kong to exceed expectations and reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals, their coach and several players would still be required in the Middle East.
When asked on Thursday which team Andersen would lead in the event of a clash, Fok said the Asian Cup would take precedence.
“We want to have the best possible squad to face Inter Miami but the Asian Cup comes first, for sure,” he said.
“For now, the squad [to face Inter Miami] will be led by Jorn Andersen, but we do have different coaches … so if he isn’t able to come back, there are alternatives.”
Andersen last week named a 40-man preliminary squad for the exhibition, including a host of foreign players from the city’s Premier League but also some who are in Qatar.
The Inter Miami squad will arrive in Hong Kong on February 2 before holding an open training session on February 3 at Hong Kong Stadium, for which Lamuniere said 15,000 tickets had been distributed to local communities via the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. After playing a day later, they depart on February 5.
Miami will host two football clinics at which club staff will take sessions with developmental children aged nine to 14 and selected charities.
Additional reporting by Mike Chan
Organisers were on Thursday coy as to whether superstar Lionel Messi will grace the field when Inter Miami visit Hong Kong for an exhibition match next month, claiming there is no deal in place, despite local fans forking out thousands of dollars for tickets.
However a senior government source disputed this, saying there were “contract terms specifying that Messi would play in the match, save for illness or injury”. The organisers would have to fulfil the contract, the source added.
Priced HK$880 to HK$4,880 (US$113 to US$624), the seats sold out in under an hour then promptly began appearing on resale site Viagogo for up to HK$12,000 a pair.
But with the match forming part of a packed preseason tour by the Major League Soccer club, co-owned by David Beckham, there are doubts over the 36-year-old Messi featuring prominently.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the decision of the coach to decide who is going to play and for how long,” said Michel Lamuniere, chairman and CEO of the match’s organiser Tatler Asia.
“But obviously, Inter Miami have some marquee players, and those marquee players will be on the pitch.”
Other players at Miami who could fall into that category include Messi’s former Barcelona teammates and fellow Uefa Champions League winners Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
However, Lamuniere said Miami’s visit would help to “reaffirm Hong Kong’s place as Asia’s world city” – sentiments echoed by Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung.
“I think major events like this one … could attract tourists as well as put Hong Kong on the map of the world and attract people’s attention,” Yeung said.
Asked if the city could compete with the ability of regional rivals Thailand and Singapore to attract high-profile sporting events and stars, Yeung said Hong Kong could lean on cultural events to help bring in crowds.
“We also have different types of major events, like Art Basel, and we have festival celebrations. So all these are actually major events that could attract tourists.”
In July and August last year, football fans in Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok saw Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Roma and a host of other clubs pass through during their preseason tours.
Hong Kong received no such visitors and balked at the reported HK$39 million fee requested to invite an English Premier League club to town.
The visit by Miami clashes with the AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar, featuring the Hong Kong national team, whose head coach Jorn Andersen has also been asked to oversee the squad for the February 4 exhibition game.
Eric Fok Kai-shan, chairman of the city’s football association, on Thursday touted the exhibition as “a very special opportunity for our players”. But were Hong Kong to exceed expectations and reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals, their coach and several players would still be required in the Middle East.
When asked on Thursday which team Andersen would lead in the event of a clash, Fok said the Asian Cup would take precedence.
“We want to have the best possible squad to face Inter Miami but the Asian Cup comes first, for sure,” he said.
“For now, the squad [to face Inter Miami] will be led by Jorn Andersen, but we do have different coaches … so if he isn’t able to come back, there are alternatives.”
Andersen last week named a 40-man preliminary squad for the exhibition, including a host of foreign players from the city’s Premier League but also some who are in Qatar.
The Inter Miami squad will arrive in Hong Kong on February 2 before holding an open training session on February 3 at Hong Kong Stadium, for which Lamuniere said 15,000 tickets had been distributed to local communities via the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. After playing a day later, they depart on February 5.
Miami will host two football clinics at which club staff will take sessions with developmental children aged nine to 14 and selected charities.
Additional reporting by Mike Chan