Football superstar Lionel Messi arrived in Beijing by private jet on Saturday and was greeted by hundreds of jubilant fans, with his World-Cup-winning Argentina set to face Australia in a friendly match next week.
“Messi! Messi!” chanted several hundred fans who were waiting for him at the airport, many wearing the blue-and-white striped jersey of the Albiceleste’s No.10, according to social media images.
Several hundred others waited outside his hotel, not far from the banks of the Liangma River, popular with Beijingers for strolls.
This is Messi’s seventh trip to China, the last being in 2017, according to local media.
World champions Argentina will play a friendly against Australia on June 15 at Beijing’s newly-renovated 68,000-capacity Workers’ Stadium.
By mid-day, the arrival of global sporting superstar Messi was the most talked-about topic on the Weibo social network.
“I absolutely want to see Messi!” wrote one user, echoing others’ comments.
“I am still…
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
