[2] Organizer Tatler Asia, a fashion magazine with no experience in sports events, had been misleading during and after the match about Messi's expected participation and its knowledge of this, and ultimately agreed to a half-refund of the record-setting ticket prices.

[3] According to an interview with Pui Kwan-kay, President of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA), a friendly match had been planned for Inter Miami in Shanghai, to take place in November 2023, but was cancelled due to delays with permits.

Since the organising Shanghai sports corporation had paid the deposit and the team had travel plans, intermediaries approached Pui expressing their desire for Hong Kong to take over the match.

Both Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who previously visited Hong Kong in 2014 and won the World Cup in 2022, and Uruguay footballer Luis Suárez were reported to be joining the tour.

Due to requests under contract terms, Messi played for 7 minutes as a substitution in the match against Al Nassr in spite of his club's advice to rest for a few days.

[14] After finishing the match in Saudi Arabia, Inter Miami's delayed flight arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at half past two in the afternoon local time on 2 February,[15] pushing the welcome ceremony back an hour.

[17] Around ten minutes later, Hong Kong officials including sports commissioner Sam Wong, along with Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas and Tatler Asia CEO Michel Lamunière, arrived and took pictures with a group of children who had hoped to meet the footballers.

[19] In a press conference later that afternoon, Martino said Messi had felt a twinge in his hamstring and underwent an MRI earlier that week to assess the problem.

[22] Around 15,000 free tickets were distributed by the government, Laureus Sport for Good, and HKFA to grassroot community organizations, students, youth and para-athletes.

He was stopped for a selfie by one of several pitch invaders, who brought the event to an early conclusion, with Miami players staying only 40 minutes of the 90 scheduled.

[26] Messi, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets from Inter Miami, paralympic medalist So Wa-wai, Special Olympics football player Lee Ho-yung, and disability activist Mok Kim-wing met with two severely ill children from Make-A-Wish Hong Kong, and signed autographs.

[33] Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee was seen chatting with Beckham,[32] as were actor Tony Leung and his actress wife Carina Lau who took photos with the club's owner.

In the 40th minute Taylor feinted to his left from the corner of the box and fired a curling strike past the goalkeeper to open the scoring for Inter Miami.

Suarez had failed to take to the pitch because of a knee injury,[36] while Messi, wearing trousers, was reported to have entered the dressing room during halftime.

Martino stressed it had been the decision of the medical team made in the morning after checking their physical situation, and they also had to consider their obligations with the upcoming 2024 Major League Soccer season.

It stated that MSEC would take actions with Tatler Asia including "reducing the amount of funding as a result of Messi not playing the match".

[48] Inter Miami concluded its visit to Hong Kong on 5 February, leaving in the afternoon after a planned appearance at Kai Tak Sports Park was cancelled.

Yeung added that officials had no direct contact with Inter Miami, and had no idea of the severity of Messi's injuries or the decision to leave him on the bench.

[58] The government is said to have invited Messi to tour the Victoria Harbour and Kai Tak Sports Park for HK$1 million in order to promote Hong Kong, but was rejected by Inter Miami well before the match.

[59] In a press conference on the same day,[60] Tatler Asia chair Michel Lamunière said the contract agreement included clauses requiring Messi and Suarez to play in the match unless they were injured, and both were included in the official team sheet signed by Martino before the match which "showed Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as substitutes and therefore fit to play".

[64] Lamunière announced on 5 February the withdrawal of Tatler Asia's application for government funds, and expressed deep regret over the disappointing ending for the fans.

[65] John Lee said that he had directed the ministry to seriously review the Messi debacle and the M Mark application procedures, including the roles and responsibilities of officials in promoting future large-scale events, such as requirements for contingency plans and timely communications.

[66] However, Beckham negotiated the deal to bring Inter Miami to Hong Kong around the beginning of December,[67] narrowing the vetting period to one and a half months.

[68] MSEC chair Wilfred Ng confirmed "there will be special arrangements for large-scale events" as members had favoured the potential boost to Hong Kong's economy and to sports development.

[81] In 2017, Messi had sent a signed photograph to 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo through Howard Lam, a Hong Kong Democratic Party member.

[91] Another conspiracy theory singled out Inter Miami's Cuban-American co-owner Jorge Mas, who was linked to hawkish former US President Ronald Reagan.

[93] Messi posted a two-minute Spanish video on 19 February, telling fans that it was "totally untrue" that he sat out the match for political reasons, and reiterated that he had been suffering from inflamed leg muscles.

"[94] Argentina's national team was scheduled to play two friendly international matches in March, against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing.

[97] Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports Channel replaced frames of Messi winning the World Cup in a television programme with Philipp Lahm's victory in 2014.

[98] This was soon removed as well when it was realized that Lahm had previously criticised China's human rights problems and urged athletes in democratic countries to reveal their political stance.