On February 4, 2024, the Hong Kong Stadium held a friendly match between Miami International and Hong Kong team, and Miami International charged sky-high remuneration for this friendly match. However, Messi did not comply with this request after the game, only appearing in the back row during the group photo and then returning to the dressing room. 
As a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong's sports, performing arts, culture and publishing sectors, Fok Kai-gang issued a statement in this regard, expressing his great disappointment with the arrangement of the organizer Tatler, and pointed out that the other party does not respect fans and Hong Kong citizens, and believes that the organizer and Inter Miami need to apologize and explain to the whole Hong Kong public.
It is reported that the organizer Tatler used "Messi" to attract popularity at the end of 2023, and the tickets for this friendly match were sold out in less than an hour. When the open training was launched on February 3, 2024, there were more than 40,000 spectators in the stadium, just to see Messi's style.
Inter Miami also did not announce the starting and substitute lists of the game in time before the game, and the list was not slowly released until 1 minute before the game, and it was a big disappointment that Messi only appeared as a substitute. When the fans at the scene saw this list of appearances, they were already cursing the eighteenth generation of their ancestors in their hearts.
Messi's poster head was knocked out by angry fans at the scene, and after the game, Miami International coach Martino explained the incident, and the medical team decided to let Messi miss the friendly match. But the audience didn't buy this explanation. Kevin Yeung, Director of the Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, held a press conference to respond to the dispute, stating that the $16 million sponsorship had not yet been paid, and that Miami International had not complied with the original requirements, and that it would have to discuss with the organizer before deciding whether to pay.