Lionel Messi accused of a "blatant attempt to defraud American citizens."
Published: 2013 July 09 12:51:00 (3686 Views)
Lionel Messi's disastrous tour of the US has suffered another blow after fans were left fuming by a supposed 'VIP experience' before his latest match for charity in Chicago.
Messi has already received some heat in America for cancelling a match in Los Angeles at the last minute which left one of the sponsors saying it was a "blatant attempt to defraud American citizens."
The latest 'Lionel Messi and Friends' match in Chicago struggled to capture the imagination of the public as the promoters struggled to fill out the teams – players from the local university were hauled in to make up the numbers – and the goal of the game was scored by a financial analyst.
That led to only about half of the stadium's 60,000 tickets being sold but some 80 supporters did at least think they were going to meet Messi after splashing out $2,500 (£1,700) on special VIP packages for the event.
The package promised: "Tickets with unprecedented field access following a meet and greet with the players, as well as a jersey and ball autographed by Messi"
However, Messi was not at the pre-match meet and greet and, after being substituted in the 68th minute, left the stadium before the final whistle to go on holiday in Ibiza.
One father who paid $5,000 so that he and his son Hudson could meet Messi said:"All I could tell him (son) is that sometimes our heroes let us down, that they are just regular people and whether they are great actors, singers, athletes - they are just people. Some are good people and some are bad."
Before the match Messi had said: "I don't have anything to do with the local promoters.
"At the end of the day I'm here to benefit the (Messi) Foundation and benefit Unicef."
- Yahoo
Messi has already received some heat in America for cancelling a match in Los Angeles at the last minute which left one of the sponsors saying it was a "blatant attempt to defraud American citizens."
The latest 'Lionel Messi and Friends' match in Chicago struggled to capture the imagination of the public as the promoters struggled to fill out the teams – players from the local university were hauled in to make up the numbers – and the goal of the game was scored by a financial analyst.
That led to only about half of the stadium's 60,000 tickets being sold but some 80 supporters did at least think they were going to meet Messi after splashing out $2,500 (£1,700) on special VIP packages for the event.
The package promised: "Tickets with unprecedented field access following a meet and greet with the players, as well as a jersey and ball autographed by Messi"
However, Messi was not at the pre-match meet and greet and, after being substituted in the 68th minute, left the stadium before the final whistle to go on holiday in Ibiza.
One father who paid $5,000 so that he and his son Hudson could meet Messi said:"All I could tell him (son) is that sometimes our heroes let us down, that they are just regular people and whether they are great actors, singers, athletes - they are just people. Some are good people and some are bad."
Before the match Messi had said: "I don't have anything to do with the local promoters.
"At the end of the day I'm here to benefit the (Messi) Foundation and benefit Unicef."
- Yahoo
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