Lionel Messi arrives in Hong Kong: Inter Miami team land in city ahead of weekend match

He descended the steps from the plane carrying two drinks bottles and his suitcase, with his bodyguard Yassine Cheuko remaining close at all times. A scrum of photographers awaited on the ground.

The welcome ceremony that was scheduled for 2pm was pushed back an hour on account of the plane’s adjusted arrival time, caused by delays at the airport in Riyadh.

Players and staff from the American club assembled on a red and pink stage by the plane and were presented with a bouquet of flowers by a local child. There was then confusion as the master of ceremonies, who was using both English and Cantonese, asked the squad to stay for further formalities, only for them to leave the stage.

The small contingent permitted to attend, including eight children and media, were left perplexed as the squad boarded a waiting coach.

A Post reporter at the scene described the event as “awkward”, with “very excited” Hong Kong children waiting, hoping to take pictures with the players.

The team’s bus remained on the runway for some time before they were taken through customs. Avoiding the arrival hall – where a small number of fans were seen earlier in the day wearing Inter Miami jerseys – the squad passed through a private section of the airport before heading directly to their hotel, the Fullerton Ocean Park in Aberdeen.

After a few minutes, an Inter Miami representative appeared on the runway stage, joined by Sam Wong Tak-sum, Hong Kong’s commissioner for sports, the eight children, staff from the Hong Kong Airport Authority and the visit’s organisers.

Members of the Miami squad – whose notable names also include Uruguayan Luis Suarez and Spaniards Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets – were due to give a prematch press conference at the Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel later on Friday afternoon. Head coach Gerardo Martino and an unnamed selection of players were set to attend.

Beckham reportedly arrived ahead of the squad to attend a closed-door commercial event.

Sunday’s match forms part of a preseason tour that will take in five countries and cover about 24,000 miles (39,000km).

The announcement that 2022 Fifa World Cup winner Messi – eight-time recipient of the Ballon d’Or award for the planet’s leading player – would be heading to Hong Kong sparked a frenzy among football followers.

Tickets priced between HK$880 and HK$4,880 (US$113 to US$624) sold out within an hour when they went on sale in December.

On Saturday, Inter Miami will hold an open training session, also at Hong Kong Stadium. Tickets for that, which were available via Klook at HK$580 to HK$780, also sold out. Some 15,000 tickets were distributed to local communities via the city’s government.

Inter Miami club staff will also host two football clinics planned for children aged nine to 14 and selected charities.

Messi visits Hong Kong: when is Inter Miami match, tickets, TV, itinerary

That game was supposed to see Messi play against his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, but the latter did not feature at all, also because of injury.

There was anger from fans last week in Shenzhen, the mainland Chinese city bordering Hong Kong, when Al Nassr abruptly cancelled two matches there because of Ronaldo’s calf issue, although the club stayed on to fulfil media duties.

Last month, a government source told the Post that there were “contract terms specifying that Messi would play in the match [against the Hong Kong XI], save for illness or injury”.