Array
Hundreds of jubilant fans greeted Lionel Messi as he arrived on Saturday in Beijing, where his World Cup-winning Argentina will face Australia in a friendly match next week.
“Messi! Messi!” chanted several hundred fans who were waiting for the football superstar 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 the team’s 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.
Several banners written in Spanish and English welcomed the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner at the hotel.
