Messi, who has been suffering with a hamstring injury, was left on the bench as his side beat a Hong Kong XI 4-1, much to the frustration of local fans who had turned up in numbers in expectation of seeing the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner in action.

As well as wanting their money back, spectators booed Inter co-owner David Beckham at a post-match speech, while the Hong Kong government later expressed its “deep disappointment” over Messi not playing and for organisers “failing to provide a detailed explanation promptly”.

Beckham’s MLS side has since moved on to Japan where it will play Vissel Kobe on Wednesday and Argentina superstar Messi trained on Tuesday.

The World Cup-winner said in a press conference shown on Sky Sports: “Unfortunately in football things can happen in any game, that we may have an injury. It happened to me.

“I couldn’t play in the Hong Kong match, and it was a shame because I always wanted to participate, I wanted to be there and even more so when it came to these matches.

“When we travelled so far and people were so excited to see our matches. I hope we can return and we play another game and I can play as I do whenever I can. But the truth is that it is a game that I was not able to participate.”