But from the perspective of an obsessed Chinese fan, it was worth it for a selfie with his Argentinian hero Lionel Messi, even if he came out blurry.
The Argentine star is in the Chinese capital for a friendly match against Australia on Thursday, and was greeted by throngs of soccer fans eager to see him for a while, including Liu Yuhang, a 26-year-old computer programmer from the north- east of Liaoning province. , who won the Global Icon trophy a decade ago.
“He’s not just an athlete, he’s an artist,” he told AFP on Monday, “he gave me more meaning in life and became a kind of faith for me. “.
The Chinese youngster explained that he felt “very excited” when he learned that Messi would be making a rare visit to China, but he knew he would face an uphill battle to see his idol in person.
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Leo first joined the crowd of fans waiting outside the Argentina national team hotel, but he couldn’t see Messi properly as he entered. The young Chinese man spent more than two thousand yuan ($280) for a luxurious room inside, but his plan was again thwarted due to the high-security fence. His luck finally came on Sunday, when he saw the team bus leaving the hotel for a training session. A frantic bicycle chase through the capital in sweltering heat resulted in a breathless Leo standing next to the national team bus at a red light, and his reward was a brief flurry of an airborne Messi puzzled in the back seat, and a “distant” “selfie” with the player in the background. “At that time, I felt really happy,” Liu said. “I spent a lot of money on that, but if I hadn’t, I’d probably always regret it.”
Messi arrived in Beijing on Saturday and will lead Argentina against Australia at the newly refurbished “Workers’ Stadium”, which seats 68,000 spectators.
The clash between the two teams will be a rematch of last year’s World Cup match in the round of 16, when Argentina won 2-1 en route to the title.
Tickets for the match, which ranged in price from 580 to 4,800 yuan, sold out at record speed and Liu was unable to buy a single one.
“I tried to buy a ticket, but I couldn’t,” he said, adding that he planned to stream the match online with his friends.
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