The crowd follows wherever Lionel Messi goes. This sentence was proved correct once again when Inter Miami’s training session tickets were sold out as millions of fans flocked to the stadium to watch Messi and co. train.
The Hong Kong Stadium was cordoned off by police as fans queued to get a glimpse of Argentina’s top-ranked player ahead of an Inter Miami friendly match on Sunday.
A few hours before Inter Miami took the field for a training session open to the public, long lines of eager fans formed outside the stadium. The stadium, which has a capacity of 40,000 was filled to the brim as fans chanted the World Cup winner’s name.
The Major League Soccer club is co-owned by former England international David Beckham. Beckham also made an appearance to the delight of a near-capacity crowd.
A few minutes later, however, the roof of the stadium was almost torn off by a standing ovation for Messi, now aged 36, as he joined his teammates on the field for a light training session.
Messi spent most of the hour doing stretches to protect a sore left hamstring, but the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner did take part in a kickabout with 80 happy schoolchildren from Hong Kong during a post-practice coaching clinic.
The crowd cheered every time Messi touched the ball, as the World Cup winner waived at crowds.
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