"Messi! Messi!" chanted several hundred fans waiting for him at the airport, wearing the blue and white striped jersey of the Albiceleste N.10, according to viral images posted on social networks.

Several hundred others wait in front of his hotel in the east of the Chinese capital, not far from the banks of the Liangma River, popular with Beijing residents for walks.

Several banners in English and Spanish welcome the seven-time Ballon d'Or.

The fans, at first calm and rather reserved, suddenly start shouting in chorus name of their idol at the approach of a bus that could be that of Lionel Messi.

A tide of selfie sticks and mobile phones stir, while a crowd invades the lobby of the hotel where the world champion is staying in the hope of seeing him. In vain.

"I waited from 9:00 a.m. to noon," Liu Yuheng, wearing the Barça shirt where Messi spent the vast part of his career, told AFP.

Chinese fans wearing Argentina's jersey wait on June 10, 2023 outside the hotel where the team is staying, which is scheduled to play a friendly against Australia in Beijing © Jade GAO / AFP

"I thought it would come through the main door but not through the back door. I was a little disappointed not to see him," said the 26-year-old.

"As I couldn't buy a ticket for the match, I booked a room in the same hotel as Messi and I was hoping to see him," he said.

"See Messi!"

World champion Argentina, led by its captain Messi, will play on June 15 in Beijing a friendly match against Australia, at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing, just renovated and with a capacity of 68,000 spectators.

The match will mark the return of international football in China, after three years of health restrictions that emptied stadiums and led to a cascade of cancellations of sports competitions.

Chinese fans of Lionel Messi, who is scheduled to play a friendly match with Argentina against Australia, wait for the football player's arrival at his hotel, on June 10, 2023 in Beijing © Pedro PARDO / AFP

The clash will be a rematch of the knockout stages of the World Cup held in Qatar at the end of 2022, where Argentina won 2-1 against the Socceroos.

The arrival in China of the world champion was at midday the most discussed topic on the social network Weibo.

"I absolutely want to see Messi!" wrote one user in tune with other comments.

"I still feel the emotions of the match that dedicated Argentina to the World Cup," said another in reference to the victory of the Albiceleste after a legendary final against France in December (3-3, 4 tab to 2).

In a video widely commented online, Messi is seen in a corridor of Beijing airport blocked by two police officers. Inaudible exchanges take place with people who seem to be close to him. Internet users assume a hiccup with the passport of their idol.

This trip to China is the 7th for Lionel Messi, the last one was in 2017, according to local media.

Welcome message for Leo Messi from a fan, June 10, 2023, outside the hotel where the team is staying, which is scheduled to play a friendly against Australia in Beijing © Jade GAO / AFP

The 35-year-old, who chose to leave Paris Saint-Germain to continue his career in the United States at Inter Miami, will play another friendly against Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19, as part of this Asian tour.

© 2023 AFP