Published:
Jun 12, 2023 09:25 GMT
At first, the Argentine team was unable to attend a training session prior to its match against Australia, according to reports.
Lionel Messi arrived in Beijing last Saturday to play a friendly match against Australia with the Argentine team and had scheduled a training session prior to the event for Sunday night.
However, a large number of “scandalously passionate” fans meant that both Messi and the rest of his teammates “could not leave the hotel” as they crowded nearby, the organizers of the meeting said.
As a consequence, the training at the Beijing National Olympic Sports Center would have been canceled at first, report local media.
???? | Madness in China for the arrival of Messi. Hundreds of Chinese fans flocked to the Beijing airport to receive Messi, who arrived in the Chinese capital this Saturday morning to join the concentration of the Argentine National Team. pic.twitter.com/hiQzhLOYIy
– World Alert (@ AlertaMundial2) June 10, 2023
“Messi, Messi”, the fans chanted when the Argentine star arrived in the country. Some of the fans even resorted to “desperate” measures in order to meet his idol.
Before it was announced that the reigning world champions would be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel, a fan spent 10,000 yuan ($1,400) randomly booking rooms at four of the Chinese capital’s luxury hotels in order to see to Messi.
lionel #Messi arrived in Beijing on Saturday morning, which is the football star’s seventh trip to China. Messi will lead world champions Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15. pic.twitter.com/PeSqYjUc5R
—Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 10, 2023
