Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s pre-season tour of China this month has been cancelled at short notice.
The Major League Soccer side had planned a first international tour to China at the beginning of November in an attempt to raise the global profile of the club, but have now cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Any football fans in China hopeful of catching a glimpse of Messi will have been left disappointed as Inter Miami were supposed to play two matches in the space of three days.
So, why has Messi and Inter Miami’s China tour really been cancelled?
Inter Miami‘s tour of China was set to take place in early November, with the club playing two games. A clash with Qingdao Hainiu on 5 November was first up, followed by a meeting with Chengdu Rongcheng on 8 November.
While acting as some pre-season training for the Inter Miami squad after they missed out on the MLS play-offs, the real ambition of the tour was to expand the club’s global reach.
“We’re very excited to continue to expand our Club’s global reach, bringing our team to play in front of incredible fans across the globe,” Miami chief business officer Xavier Asensi said previously in a press release.
“This is a special opportunity to share the passion as we reach new audiences and put ourselves on display in new places, and we’re looking forward to beginning this adventure.”
The tour was set to be Inter Miami’s first outside of the United States.
On Wednesday, Inter Miami released a statement about the cancellation of their China tour. It read: “The tour promoter, NSN, has informed Inter Miami CF of the cancellation of its China Tour due to unforeseen circumstances in China.
“Inter Miami’s ambition remains to expand its global reach by playing in front of incredible fans from across the globe; the club will continue to explore future opportunities with NSN to achieve this goal.”
Tour promoter NSN confirmed the trip to China was cancelled due to the recent death of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The 68-year-old died suddenly of a heart attack almost a week ago in Shanghai.
Whether Inter Miami rearrange the tour for a later date remains to be seen. Perhaps the club will choose to embark on their first international tour elsewhere.
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