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Lionel Messi is expected to feature for Argentina in their international friendly against Australia later this week – days after being stopped at Beijing Airport
Lionel Messi found himself in a spot of bother at Beijing Airport as he was stopped at border control, having attempted to use his Spanish passport rather than his Argentine one.
Messi, 35, arrived in China in a private jet over the weekend, where he was joined by his ‘bodyguard’ and a number of friends, including Argentina star Angel di Maria. He was travelling to join up with his international teammates in preparation for a friendly against Australia on Thursday.
However, as he was arriving into Beijing, a video circulating over social media showed Messi surrounded by several police officers. Messi appeared to clutch his passport while talking to them about the issue. Local press in China claimed that the problems stemmed around Messi using the wrong passport.
It was also reported that Messi believed he could travel to Taiwan on his Spanish passport, meaning that it was also valid for China. He was quoted as saying: “Is Taiwan not China?” Messi supposedly did not have his Argentine passport on him, despite playing for the national team this week.
Messi was delayed for a further two hours before finally being granted a VISA and let through. It was Messi’s seventh trip to China, having previously visited the country when he participated at the 2008 Olympics, where he helped Argentina to win a Gold medal.
As for Messi’s club future, he will join Inter Miami next month when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires. Messi has joined the franchise, co-owned by David Beckham, having turned down reported offers to re-join Barcelona and to follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia.
The seven-time Balon d’Or winner will officially become an Inter Miami player on July 5, which is the date when the MLS secondary transfer window opens. The next fixture on the Herons’ schedule after this date is a clash against with D.C. United – managed by Wayne Rooney – at Audi Field three days later when Messi could make his first appearance.
Naturally, the demand for tickets to see the world-famous star has been extensive since last Wednesday’s landmark announcement, with tickets for this match having sold in their thousands in the past week. On top of this, the prices of tickets that were available skyrocketed from the initial listing of $29 on Ticketmaster.
In fact, the uptake in ticket sales has been felt across the MLS, with the signing of Messi having seemingly captured the imaginations of the public at large across the States. Pointedly, sales and second-hand prices of tickets for matches have increased exponentially from Atlanta to Los Angeles to Chicago.
