Lionel Messi is currently leading the race to win his 8th Ballon d’Or in his soccer career. Currently enjoying his time with his new club Inter Miami, the Argentinian was also looking to play friendlies in China for the off-season. But, the MLS club has now suffered a blow before they even travel to China.

Inter Miami will not be happy with the rescheduling and chaos in their friendlies tour. Messi will be aiming to make a comeback while he is preparing for the national team matches next month.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami faces a blow ahead of leaving China for the pre-season

Inter Miami could not qualify for the playoffs this season despite the brilliance of Lionel Messi in the last few matches of the season. Hence, the MLS club made plans to make sure that fans of the Argentina star could see him in the off-season. They accepted an invitation to play friendlies in China against Chinese Super League teams. The club was going to play two games on the 5th and 8th of November respectively. However, it looks like their China tour is suddenly in chaos.

According to the South Morning China Post, Inter Miami’s second game on the 8th of November against Chengdu Rongcheng has been canceled due to various reasons. There are further issues as their game on the 5th of November against Qingdao will go ahead despite last-minute location changes and ticketing issues for the fans. The fans in China have also raised the issues on social media as they are now confused and frustrated with constant changes in the schedule and various other things.

MLS managed to attract a large number of fans from different countries for the Inter Miami games. This is because of the signing of Lionel Messi. Messi’s signing has also helped the league attract sponsorships and viewerships from various countries. Hence, MLS and Inter Miami were hoping to use the presence of Messi in China to promote their league. The cancellation of one friendly is now set to derail their major plans.

MLS and Inter Miami will have limited time to promote their league in the Asian continent. This is also a setback for the fans in China as the two games would have given them the best possible opportunity to see their favorite player. Inter Miami are now going to play in a stadium of only 41,500 compared to over 50,000 earlier in the only friendly. This will likely result in a lot of fans not being able to get the tickets.

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However, at the moment, Messi’s focus remains on the Ballon d’Or ceremony on the 30th of October. He will win his 8th Ballon d’Or ahead of Manchester City star Erling Haaland. He is going to become the only soccer player in history to win it 8 times.