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Tom Bell

Did you miss out on the chance to not watch Lionel Messi play in Hong Kong? Or could you be tempted to give him another try?
Or has the commotion this week – the world’s greatest footballer sitting out a match, and subsequent cries for refunds – really sold it to you as a first-time fan?
Argentine icon Messi and his club Inter Miami are (how to phrase this?) theoretically due to delight spectators in Tokyo on Wednesday when they play the next friendly match of their preseason tour against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe.
As of late Tuesday, plenty of tickets were still available. There was more room to begin with: the venue, the Japan National Stadium, has a 68,000 capacity, compared with the 40,000 of Hong Kong Stadium.


Seats went on sale in late December, costing between 10,000 and 45,000 yen (US$67 to US$303).
That’s HK$527 to HK$2,370, for any Hongkongers who have the time and tolerance for a late dash, and any disposable income left after the events of recent days.
It’s almost a snip compared with the Hong Kong leg, which was priced at HK$880 to HK$4,880 (US$113 to US$624), if still fairly dear for 90 minutes in which, as we have seen, anything can happen.




But there are options to burn through a larger pile of cash to get closer to the US Major League Soccer club and its roster.
The Japanese organisers also released four “special experience” packages, at costs of 100,000, 300,000, 1.5 million and 3 million yen (US$675 to US$20,200). It was unclear which were still up for grabs.
For 100,000 yen (HK$5,265), you get a seat at the match and VIP catering, plus access to prematch training.
Tripling your outlay secures an upgrade to a more elite-level VIP enclosure, the use, crucially, of a VIP entrance, and the right to watch drills pregame. You can also walk on the pitch. (Hong Kong seemed to have this option too, but at no extra charge and you had to be wrestled to the floor by security and escorted out.)

Serious high rollers will, at a minimum, want to be Instagramming the reassuringly expensive 1.5 million yen package. It unlocks a stadium tour, a match ball to take home, and a meet-and-greet and signed jersey courtesy of a random player. So that could mean Israel Boatwright – which would no doubt overdeliver.
What, then, does one get for the most special experience of all?
There are 17 items in this package, including a stadium tour, access to areas normally restricted to the players, and a match ball – so far, so 1.5 mill.
Messi’s Hong Kong no-show: what contract said, when government knew, any refund?
But wait.
The lucky/wealthy/reckless purchaser will gain admission to the pre and post-match press conferences. These, Post reporters can assure you, can be laugh-an-hour affairs. Last Sunday in Hong Kong, Miami provided one little-known player and dictated which uninteresting questions could be asked.
Two key final items are included. This, it turns out, is the golden ticket.


Access to Messi. Or so we are led to believe, in the form of a meet-and-greet with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Not Boatwright. Not Shanyder Borgelin. Not just Jordi Alba. The main man – and shirts signed by him. Yours for a casual HK$158,000.
Barring, one presumes, illness or injury.
Needless to say, football fans: remember last Sunday, manage your expectations and travel at your own risk.
Additional reporting by Mike Chan


Messi fans can seek refunds without dropping complaints to Hong Kong consumer watchdog

Messi in Hong Kong: how can Miami-style tours satisfy Asia fans? Barcelona’s Ilkay Gundogan has a solution

After China’s Messi divorce, football counts cost of own-goal in Hong Kong

Lionel Messi’s Argentina to play 2 matches in US to replace cancelled China games after Hong Kong fiasco

Lionel Messi in Hong Kong

Lionel Messi: after fans cry ‘scam’ in Hong Kong, any takers for US$20,000 ‘special experience’ Inter Miami ticket in Tokyo?

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo

A fan runs on to the field at the match between Inter Miami and Hong Kong on Sunday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Will Lionel Messi play in Japan for Inter Miami after Hong Kong no-show sparked calls for refunds?

Lionel Messi takes part in Inter Miami’s  training session east of Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami told ‘get out of Hong Kong’ as fans warn Japan risks heartbreak next

Lionel Messi fans Ada Kam (left) and Sam Lau show their dissatisfaction before Miami’s departure from their hotel. Photo: Elson Li

Messi (back, centre) did not play in Hong Kong as fans had to make do with his lesser-known teammates. Photo: AP

Lionel Messi fiasco dubbed ‘diplomatic crisis’, worse than crypto scam as Hong Kong moves through stages of social media grief

Lionel Messi was lampooned and lambasted online over Inter Miami’s visit to Hong Kong. Photo: AP

Lionel Messi’s head from an advertising display in the stadium lies on the ground after being kicked off by a fan. Photo: AP

Sport

Football

Tickets are still available for Inter Miami’s friendly match on Wednesday against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe – at roughly half the cost of Hong Kong game
Special packages can get you closer to Messi, though at eye-watering prices


Tickets are still available for Inter Miami’s friendly match on Wednesday against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe, while special packages can get you closer to Messi, at eye-watering prices.


Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi: after fans cry ‘scam’ in Hong Kong, any takers for US$20,000 ‘special experience’ Inter Miami ticket in Tokyo?

Tickets are still available for Inter Miami’s friendly match on Wednesday against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe – at roughly half the cost of Hong Kong game Special packages can get you closer to Messi, though at eye-watering prices

Tickets are still available for Inter Miami’s friendly match on Wednesday against Japanese champions Vissel Kobe – at roughly half the cost of Hong Kong game

Special packages can get you closer to Messi, though at eye-watering prices