Lionel Messi told disappointed fans he felt too much injury 'discomfort' to play for Inter Miami against a Hong Kong League XI - after some even booed his side off out of annoyance. 

Messi said it would have been 'very difficult' to feature with his inflamed adductor muscle, despite the Hong Kong government claiming he was contractually obliged to play for 45 minutes. 

Fans paid between £99 and £498 to watch Inter Miami win 4-1 at the Hong Kong Stadium and were upset when Messi didn't feature. 

David Beckham and his assembly of stars, who hadn't won in 12 games until Sunday, were booed off the field as fans also chanted 'refund!' and gave thumbs-down signs. 

Messi said: 'In Hong Kong, we had an open-door training session and I went out because there was such a big crowd there and there was a clinic with the kids, and I wanted to be there and participate.

'But the truth is that the discomfort was still there and it was very difficult for me to play.

'I can understand that people were looking forward to it and I hope that there will be another opportunity for me to play in Hong Kong.'