Messi, the god of soccer, doesn't want to go to China Argentina's surprise cancellation on request

Aug 11, 2025

Messi, the god of soccer, doesn't want to go to China Argentina's surprise cancellation on request



Messi, the god of soccer, doesn't want to go to China Argentina's surprise cancellation on request
Lionel Messi did not want to play against China with his Argentine teammates.

Argentine media Clarin said on the 8th (Korea time) 'Argentina's national team will go to the U.S. instead of China. In October, the Argentine national team's A match schedule was changed, saying it was expected to face Mexico 'Hot'Hot'.

Originally, Argentina was scheduled to face other Asian countries, including China, in the A-match in October. The Argentine Football Association wanted a financial gain through the A-match in October. However, it was not possible to push ahead with the schedule that the players and coaches did not want. In the end, the Argentine Football Association decided to focus only on improving its skills ahead of the World Cup.




The players who did not want to go to China were veterans, including Messi. "The tour to China has always brought greater economic benefits to the Argentine Football Association, but it has been an uncomfortable schedule for the players playing in Europe and for Lionel Messi and his close ally Rodrigo de Paul," Clarin said, explaining that Messi and several other players did not want to go to China.
Messi, the god of soccer, doesn't want to go to China Argentina's surprise cancellation on request
Messi does not want to go to China because he did not make good memories when he went to China for a friendly match. Clarin said 'This is not the first time the Asian tour has been suspended. A year after winning in 2023, he failed to return amid heightened tensions with Hong Kong. At that time, 38-year-old Messi was the main character. Messi's absence from the friendly matches between Inter Miami and Hong Kong Premier League teams was significant,' he said, referring to an incident in 2024.

At that time, Messi and Inter Miami were scheduled to move from Hong Kong to Japan. Chinese fans who went to see Messi in Hong Kong were furious when Messi, who did not play in Hong Kong due to injury, played as a substitute in Japan in the second half. Messi also apologized to his fans, but fans' complaints flooded, and eventually the organizer decided to refund 50% of the ticket price.
Messi, the god of soccer, doesn't want to go to China Argentina's surprise cancellation on request
The Argentine Football Association also tried to come to China in March 2024 to play, but at the time, the Chinese side decided not to play against Argentina as public opinion against Messi was not good. Messi, who has no good memories of visiting China, must have felt that he did not have to go to China and play for money ahead of the World Cup.

Argentina is pushing for a schedule to face Mexico in the U.S., where Messi is playing, instead of China, and then face other countries. Since Messi does not want to go to China, public opinion about Messi in China does not seem to improve easily in the future.




Meanwhile, the Chinese national soccer team is having difficulty establishing an A-match schedule. The coach was not appointed properly, and several countries invited for the A-match schedule all expressed their intention to refuse, and the A-match was on the verge of skipping in September. As Argentina also refused to face off in October, China was in a situation where it had to give up both A-match schedules.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.