Lionel Messi took to one of China’s largest social media platforms on Monday to reveal the reason for skipping the exhibition game in Hong Kong. Messi had to cope with a lot of criticism from Chinese media for his absence.

However, the Argentina international revealed he missed the game due to an injury (inflamed adductor) and not due to any political reasons.

In fact, after three days, the World Cup winner played a similar match in Japan after missing the game in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said that the fans were disappointed as they could not see the talisman in action.

“I’ve read and heard many things that have been said after the game in Hong Kong. I wanted to record this video and give you the true version so nobody has to continue reading false stories,” Messi said in a video posted on Weibo.

“I’ve heard people say that I didn’t want to play for political reasons and many other reasons that are totally untrue.

“Had that been the case I wouldn’t have even travelled to Japan or visited China, as I have many times. Since the start of my career I’ve had a very close and special relationship with China.”

Messi said he could not play due to injury and didn’t skip the match intentionally as it has been portrayed by the Chinese media.

“As I said in the press conference, I had an inflamed adductor and I couldn’t play in the first game in Saudi Arabia, which is when I felt it,” Messi added.

“In the second game I tried to play for a bit, but it got worse. Then on the day before the game [in Hong Kong] I tried to train and made an effort for all those who had come to watch training.

“It felt a bit better a few days later and that’s why I played for a bit in Japan to prepare fitness-wise for everything to come because I needed to play and get back up to speed.”

Messi will be in action when Inter Miami will next face Real Salt Lake on Thursday at the DRV PNK Stadium.