Messi, Beckham booed after superstar sits out of HK friendly

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi sits on the bench during the friendly in Hong Kong. Pic/AFP

Lionel Messi and David Beckham were booed on Sunday after the Argentina superstar sat out Inter Miami's pre-season friendly in Hong Kong. The World Cup-winning captain, who has a hamstring strain, stayed rooted to the bench throughout the 4-1 friendly win over a Hong Kong select XI.

It brought a show of anger from the near-capacity crowd of 38,323 who had paid upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) to see their hero, and in many cases a lot more.

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Halfway through the second-half, chants of "We want Messi" rose around the Hong Kong Stadium from fans desperate to see the greatest footballer of his generation in the much-hyped exhibition game.

The booing became louder during the last 10 minutes when it became clear that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner would not make even the briefest of cameos. The jeers rose to a crescendo at the final whistle after former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez also failed to take to the pitch because of a knee injury.

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