The greatest player of all time, at least in terms of individual honours (he holds the record with eight Ballon d'Or awards), is deeply revered in China. At recent World Cups (at the last three, almost a third of the crowd were of Chinese origin, but wearing Argentina's number 10 jersey because of their admiration for him), this idolatry has led to tickets being sold at an inflated prices.

Such idolatry led to tickets being sold for up to HK$1000 (€118) for a pre-season friendly between Inter Miami (who won 4-1) and a Hong Kong Select XI (a sort of national team) on 4 February.

Nearly 40,000 people bought tickets to see the Rosario superstar on what could have been his last visit to Hong Kong, but the 36-year-old did not take to the field. This was met with chants of "Refund!" as well as thumbs-down gestures and constant boos directed at the Argentine player, and David Beckham, co-owner of the Florida-based team.

Given the absence of the captain of the world champions (Argentina), some nationalist politicians interpreted Messi's absence as an insult to China, especially after the Argentine great was fit enough to play 30 minutes in a friendly in Japan (his historic rival not only in sport but also in politics and culture) a few days later. 

In a video posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Monday evening (traditional Western social media platforms are blocked by China's Communist government, which keeps a tight rein on information), the player rejected claims that his absence was "for political reasons".

The Santa Fe province native was adamant: "If that was the case, I wouldn't have gone to Hong Kong in the first place. As everyone knows, I always want to play and be involved in every game".

The reason given was that he had "an inflammation in my adductor muscle and couldn't play. I felt it in the first game in Arabia, I tried to play for a while in the second game and it got worse. I tried to train the day before and give my best for all the people there." 

Around 40,000 people attended the open training session on the eve of the friendly, according to the organisation, and enjoyed the presence of the Argentinian. In his video, Messi spoke of a "very nice and very close" relationship with China, a country with which he said he had "done a lot of things". The reason for his absence was injury, he said, specifically "an inflammation of an adductor muscle". 

Fans on Weibo were quick to react to the video, some in support of the Argentine player, who won Olympic gold in the Chinese capital almost 16 years ago.

"I think the player I have always loved would never look at his fans with any kind of prejudice. He always appreciates every fan," wrote one user.

"I still don't understand how such a supreme footballer, the greatest of all time, can be vilified online to the extent that he is considered not to love China just because he missed a friendly," wrote another fan. Messi shone in front of his fans when Argentina beat Australia in a friendly in Beijing last June, scoring in the opening minutes in front of an adoring crowd, but it wasn't enough for Hong Kong fans who felt let down by his absence.

Although it has not been officially announced as the reason for the cancellation of the friendlies that Lionel Scaloni's Argentina (and Messi's) were due to play in China, it is true that the friendlies against Nigeria in Hangzhou and African champions Côte d'Ivoire in Beijing have been cancelled and a new venue (possibly the United States) will have to be found.