BEIJING: Hundreds of jubilant fans greeted Lionel Messi as he arrived on Saturday in Beijing, where his World Cup-winning Argentina will face Australia in a friendly match next week, before leaving a storied European career to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as a free agent.

His arrival was annou­nced in a post on the organising International Foot­ball Invitation’s official Weibo social media site with a video of players stepping off a plane, ahead of Thursday’s match in the Chinese capital’s recently rebuilt Workers’ Stadium.

Messi, who lifted the World Cup in Qatar in Dece­mber and is widely considered to be one of the game’s all-time greats, confirmed this week he will leave French champions Paris St Germain for the US league.

“Messi! Messi!” chanted several hundred fans who were waiting for the football superstar at the airpo­rt, many wearing the blue-and-white striped jersey of the Albiceleste’s No 10.

Several hundred others waited outside the team’s hotel, not far from the ba­nks of the Liangma River, popular with Beij­ingers for strolls.

This is the Argentina captain’s seventh visit to China and his first since 2017.

He has received a fervent welcome on each of his previous visits to China, which has a huge football fan base despite the struggles of the men’s national team, who have played at the World Cup only once.

“I waited from 9am to noon,” said 26-year-old Liu Yuheng, who wore the jersey of Barcelona, the club where Messi spent most of his career.

“I thought he would come through the main door but not through the back door. I was a little disappointed not to see him. As I couldn’t buy a ticket for the game, I booked a room in the same hotel as Messi and was hoping to catch a glimpse of him.”

Several banners written in Spanish and English welcomed the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner at the hotel.

“I’m so excited,” said 26-year-old hospital administration worker Guo Wenwen from Guizhou province. Guo has followed Messi since 2014, owns around 30 replica Messi football jerseys and regularly posts videos on social media related to the Argentine.

Like many she does not yet have a ticket for the match but she is going to Beijing anyhow to see if she can get one.

“I’m going to Beijing to try to see him,” she added. “He is my role model, my idol, my spiritual pillar, is the ideal type of company and a source of happiness.”

By midday, the star’s arrival was the most talked-about topic on the Weibo social network with many fans providing livestreams and some chanting his name as they hoped to catch a glimpse of him.

“I absolutely want to see Messi!” wrote one user, echoing others’ comments.

“I am still feeling the emotions of the match when Argentina secured the World Cup,” said another, referring to the team’s victory after an epic final agai­nst France in December.

Some contrasted his popularity with the dim view many have of the men’s national team.

“Many Chinese fans love football but the Chinese national team are just so weak,” said Beijing resident Song Gang, 36, who joined the hordes at the hotel on Saturday but like most did not see Messi as he was whisked in a side entrance.

“We hope his visit will have a positive impact for Chinese football. But then again, look at the size of our population and our national team has been playing for so many years and the results seem to get worse and worse. I hope they improve.”

The friendly will mark the return of international football to China, after three years of strict Covid-19 restrictions that emptied stadiums and led to a cascade of cancellations of sporting competitions.

Australia and Argentina last met at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the round of 16, where Messi was among the scorers as his team won 2-1.

Messi will also play another friendly match, when Argentina take on Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19, as part of this tour.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2023