Turkmen midfielder of the Hong Kong football club “Kitchee” Ruslan Mingazov told Turkmenportal about the reaction of Lionel Messi, who sat out the entire “Inter Miami” match against the “Hong Kong Stars” on the bench.
On February 4, David Beckham's club visited Hong Kong for a friendly match with the Hong Kong League All-Star team. In the first half, the teams exchanged goals, and in the second, “Inter” scored three more goals against their opponents. Turkmen midfielder Ruslan Mingazov started and played 45 minutes before being replaced. Messi, Suarez and Alba sat on the bench for the entire match, with Busquets coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute.
-I think Messi was upset that he couldn’t take the field”, - said Mingazov, who took a photo with him after the match. – Many fans came from different countries and paid a lot of money for tickets to see Messi. Although many do not understand football, they came to see him as the king. Now people are unhappy and demand a refund for tickets, since it didn’t come out, - Ruslan added.
Let us note that after the match, “Inter Miami” head coach Gerardo Martino commented on the absence of Lionel Messi:
-We understand the fans’ disappointment that Messi and Suarez did not take the field. It was the decision of the medical team - we assessed their physical condition and decided not to risk the health of the players. We are sincerely sorry that the fans are upset. Of course, I would have liked to have Messi on the field for at least a few minutes, but the risk of injury was too high, - Martino told the South China Morning Post.
