Messi insisted in a video posted on the social media platform Weibo that he missed the game on February 4 due to an injury.
Only a few days after that Hong Kong friendly, Messi thrilled Chinese supporters with a performance in Japan.
The 36-year-old Argentine celebrity has been the target of weeks-long criticism.
Two friendlies between China and Argentina scheduled for March have been canceled by Chinese officials.
The world champions were scheduled to play Ivory Coast in Beijing and Nigeria in Hangzhou. However, Beijing does not have any plans for the football in the Chinese capital, according to this,
The Hangzhou sports bureau also announced that “the reasons that everyone knows” were behind the cancellation of the match it was hosting.
The crowd at China’s Workers’ Stadium is enthralled by Messi.
Due to an injury, Messi stayed on the sidelines for the entirety of the Hong Kong game. The football player and his team Inter Miami were accused of having “political motives” by the state media outlet Global Times, with the intention of “embarrassing” the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
The Argentine, however, called accusations that he skipped play for “political reasons” “totally untrue” in a video posted to Weibo on Monday. He emphasized his “special affection” for the Chinese people and said, “If that had not been the case, I never would have gone to Japan or seen China as much as I have.”
