Argentinian star Lionel Messi arrived in Beijing today, Saturday, to play in a friendly match before concluding a successful European career to join "Inter Miami" in the Major League Soccer in a free transfer. The arrival of the Paris Saint-Germain forward in China was announced via a post on Weibo, accompanied by a video of the players disembarking from the plane ahead of the Argentina vs. Australia friendly match scheduled for next Thursday at the recently renovated Workers' Stadium in the Chinese capital.
Fans at the airport chanted “Messi, Messi” ??? pic.twitter.com/oreSBhyJ0C— Sara ? (@SaraFCBi) June 10, 2023
Messi, who lifted the World Cup in Qatar last December and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, confirmed this week that he will leave the French champions for the American league. This is Messi's seventh visit to China and his first since 2017. He has received a warm welcome on each of his previous visits to China, which has a massive football fan base despite the national team struggling, having participated in the World Cup only once.
Anyone seen something like this before? Chinese fans are wanting to get a glimpse of Leo Messi ? pic.twitter.com/nFhBY04ST3— Leo Messi ? Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) June 10, 2023
The last encounter between Argentina and Australia was in the Round of 16 in the last World Cup, where Messi scored a goal to lead his country to a 2-1 victory.
