Leo Messi’s arrival in China was delayed by a few minutes at the airport due to alleged problems with his passport
The champions will face Australia in the refurbished Workers’ Stadium in Beijing
Leo Messi He landed in Beijing on Saturday and will soon coach the world champions against Australia at the newly renovated 68,000-capacity Beijing Workers Stadium. However, His arrival in the Asian country was not as expected from the Argentine star, who closed the soap opera on his future a few days ago.
It’s a rematch of the round of 16 of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where Argentina won 2-1 and then lifted the trophy in the grand final against Mbappé’s France. Chinese fans they desperately tried to get close to their hero Messiand tickets for the game ranged from 580 to 4,800 yuan (about 620 euros) and sold out quickly.
However, not only the fans were desperate, the arrival in China made Leo Messi desperate, who he was detained for a few minutes due to problems with his passport.
😳 The captain and world champion was held up at the airport due to passport problems. After a long wait, Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, who never left his side for a second, were able to join the rest.https://t.co/DG2HtGQbOE#rosary3 pic.twitter.com/ktVz8o4diF
– Rosario3.com (@Rosariotres) June 10, 2023
As later reported by the Consul General of China in Santa Cruz Bolivia, Wang Jialei, Leo arrived in China with his Spanish passport, but without a visa, so he had to wait two hours at the airport until migration granted him a visa as a special and urgent case.
Congratulations to the migration staff at the international airport of #Beijing for its flexibility and efficiency. lionel #Messi He arrived on his passport from Spain, but without a visa. He had to wait two hours before immigration granted him a visa as a special and urgent case. pic.twitter.com/4PLTkmRBQl
— Wang Jialei 王家雷 (@WangJialei4) June 10, 2023
Madness for Messi in China
Messi’s craze is so big that dozens of sellers on Taobao’s online shopping platform are offering to resell tickets up to 18,000 yuan (more than 2,000 euros)despite the anti-resale measures, including the requirement of identification to enter the stadium.
Hundreds of people waited in front of the hotel on Saturday of the Argentina national team in downtown Beijing.
Messi, 35 years old, who he will move to Inter Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain and closing the door on returning to Barça, he too will play another friendly match when Argentina face Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19.