Messi attracts attention this summer.
At the beginning of June, Messi is in the spotlight. The Argentinian gained absolute greatness by winning the World Cup in the winter, but now his figure is again attracting public interest – after a faded stretch at PSG, Leo signed a contract with Inter Miami and is now preparing to move overseas. Before that, Messi had to arrive at the location of the Argentina national team to play a friendly match with Australia in Beijing, the capital of China. And this is where things got interesting.
The wrong passport
At the beginning of the week, Messi flew to China with the Argentinian national team, and the problems began immediately. Leo was stopped at passport control by Beijing airport staff. As it turned out, the Argentine star flew to China with a Spanish passport (Messi has dual citizenship), which did not have a corresponding visa. There is no visa-free regime between Spain and China, and the Chinese migration service assumed that Leo would fly into the country with an Argentinian passport.
As a result, Messi was nevertheless issued a visa as a special and urgent case, but for this, the Argentine had to wait two hours at the airport while the relevant documents were being prepared.
According to the German magazine Bild, Messi did not know that he would not be able to enter the country with a Spanish passport. “Taiwan is not China?” the footballer allegedly asked the border guards. In the partially recognized state of Taiwan, there is a visa-free regime for citizens of Spain, so Leo believed that the law also applies to mainland China.
The Chinese edition of Guangzhou Daily later clarified that in fact, it was not Messi who had a problem with the documents, but his teammate, Benfica defender Nicolas Otamendi. But the phrase about Taiwan was indeed said by Leo.
The National Team Had to Cancel Their workout
Messi's arrival aroused incredible interest in China. The hotel, where the Argentina national team was located, was literally surrounded by locals. Fans have been on duty outside the Four Seasons Hotel in the Chaoyang area of the capital with banners, flags and Messi t-shirts for several days, according to the Chinese edition of the Global Times. On Tuesday, the training even had to be canceled – because of the crowds of fans, the team was unable to leave the hotel.
And one of the Chinese fans wanted to meet Messi so much that he booked rooms in four of the capital's best hotels in advance, spending about $ 1,400 on this.
There were problems directly related to the match itself. On the Chinese Internet, there were a lot of offers for the sale of special tickets for $ 650 – the “package” included a front-row seat and a T-shirt signed by Messi. Tickets were sold three to four times the original price. Naturally, it was fake. The local police had to conduct special investigations to identify the scammers. Do you want to earn money while having fun? We got your back. You just need a Bizzo Casino login to get access to various amazing and entertaining casino games online.
Messi Scored In the 2nd Minute – the Fastest Goal of His Career
In a friendly game with Australia, Messi scored already in the 2nd minute – he scored with a signature kick from his left foot into the far corner from outside the penalty area.
From the starting whistle to the moment the ball was in the goal, 1 minute and 19 seconds passed. Thus, this goal was the fastest in Leo's career. Previously, it was the goal against Chelsea in 2018 – then it took him 2 minutes and 7 seconds to send the ball into the net. Interestingly, until recently, Messi managed to score in every minute of the game in his career, except for the 1st and 2nd. After the goal against Australia, there is one final twist in Messi's adventures in China.
Lionel made a very sensational statement. He said he will not play at the 2026 World Cup.
“I think the tournament in Qatar was my last world championship. I'll see how it goes, but I don't think I'll go to the next Worlds. Due to the age and timing of the event, it will be difficult for me to play there.”
To be continued.
