Lionel Messi's Inter Miami to visit Hong Kong to play pre-season friendly in 2024
Lionel Messi's Inter Miami are set to travel to Hong Kong for a pre-season friendly next year.
As part of their pre-season in 2024, Miami announced that they will play the Hong Kong Team, comprising the best players from Hong Kong's first division. The game will take place on February 4 at the Hong Kong Stadium, which can accomodate 40,000 fans.
It will be the Herons' second pre-season game, following their hybrid friendly against El Salvador's national team on January 19 in El Salvador.
Club owner and managing director Jorge Mas said about the side's upcoming Hong Kong visit (as per MLS website):
"We're very excited to be visiting Hong Kong and indeed Asia for the very first time. From the very beginning, we set out to be a global club at Inter Miami. This is a wonderful opportunity to do just that. We hope to enthuse and inspire new Inter Miami fans in Hong Kong and across Asia who share our passion for fútbol."
It's pertinent to note that Miami are travelling abroad for pre-season for the first time in their short five-year history.
Messi and Co.'s China tour in November this year was called off due to 'unforeseen reasons' after their season ended with the MLS regular-season campaign.
How Lionel Messi fared in his first season at Inter Miami
Lionel Messi enjoyed a decent debut season with MLS side Inter Miami, whom he joined as a free agent this summer after a two-season stint with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The 36-year-old hit the ground running - scoring in his first seven games - all in the inaugural Leagues Cup - as Miami won their first piece of silverware. Messi struck 10 times and also laid out an assist in their victorious campaign.
However, injuries meant that the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner couldn't have a similar impact in their MLS fortunes. Miami snapped their 12-game winless run - with Messi scoring on his competition debut.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, though, provided two assists without scoring in his next five games as Tata Martino's side fell short in the race for the playoffs.
Overall, Messi bagged 11 goals and five assists in 14 games across three different competitions, with two assists coming in an US Open Cup semifinal.