14 European giants visited Japan, the five major leagues collectively abandoned China, media: because of the Messi crisis
Since Real Madrid's trip to China in 2003, many European teams have been keen to arrange a commercial event in China in the summer, both to complete their pre-season plans and to make a lot of money, and Italy has even held the Super Cup in China. But the summer of 2024 is a little different, the big five leagues seem to have collectively abandoned China, but next door Japan is favored, including Borussia Dortmund, Brighton & Hove Albion, 14 European giants, all set their Asian destinations in Japan. Some people can't help but ask, can't China invite these teams even if they give money? What's the secret behind it?
In this regard, some European and Japanese football agents revealed that the Messi incident at the beginning of this year had a huge impact and is still fermenting, making many European teams have to be cautious when considering coming to China. I believe many fans still remember that in February 2024, Miami International went to Hong Kong, China for a commercial match, but Messi, as the star of the house, not only did not play, but also had an "unhappy face" throughout the whole process, which seemed to have something on his mind. Although it is reasonable for Messi, as a player who did not play, to refuse to participate in the award ceremony, it is really annoying that he basically did not interact with the scene and completely ignored the fans who came from afar.
Immediately afterwards, Miami International arranged for Messi to attend a press conference alone in Japan, but he successfully participated in the Japan Business Tournament despite the official statement that he was injured. For a time, domestic public opinion attacked Messi almost one-sidedly, and some people with bad intentions deliberately linked this matter to Sino-Japanese relations. But Messi has been to China many times in his career, and in the summer of 2023, he also led the Argentine national team to play a friendly match in Beijing, not only performed well, but also actively interacted with the fans on the spot. Later, after a review of many parties, it can be basically determined that the core of the whole thing is that Miami International and the organizers do not cooperate well, which leads to a series of unpleasantness, Messi's main problem is that he does not pay enough attention to the Chinese market and Chinese fans, and his image has been greatly negatively affected, and even the Argentine national team cannot continue the original trip to China.
In order to avoid a similar situation again, the Chinese Football Association insisted that if any team wants to come to China to make money in the future, it must sign a contract that guarantees 90% of the main players to play, otherwise everything will not be discussed. Generally speaking, the main purpose of the clubs to arrange the Asian and American tours is to make money, and there are not a few cases where all substitutes play, and they are definitely not willing to accept such conditions. Not to mention the European Championships, Copa America and Olympics this summer, many players will have to participate in pre-season preparations non-stop after playing these events, and if they are forced to spin in a row, it is easy to get injured, and no European team is willing to risk sacrificing the new season to arrange for the main players to participate in too many commercial competitions.
In addition, the appearance fees of traditional European giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Bayern are not as high as imagined, and the funds provided by Japan are basically 1 billion yen, or about 45 million yuan. For most big teams, this amount of money is really nothing, so when choosing a training destination, they will definitely try to avoid situations similar to Messi's incident, otherwise they will be like Miami International, in order to make some money, and the loss will be even greater.