Photo: CFP

"We are so excited to breathing the same air as Messi!" Large groups of Chinese fans were seen waiting at the airport and team hotel as Lionel Messi, an Argentine superstar, arrived in Beijing on Saturday morning, marking his seventh visit to China.

Zhang Bo, a Messi fan arrived at Four Seasons Hotel Beijing, where Messi and the Argentinian team are staying , on 9 am Saturday morning. "I rushed to the hotel immediately after I saw the news push that Messi was arriving in Beijing."

Several hundreds of people gathered in front of the hotel at around 11 am on Saturday morning, with the crowd swelling closer to the team's arrival, leading to serious congestion around the area. 

"My heart almost popped out every time I saw a bus arriving. I am so excited to be breathing the same air as him. I hope he can feel the hospitality of Chinese fans," another fan named Yanjie joojo, who was also waiting in front of the hotel, wrote on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform.

Within an hour after Messi's landing in Beijing, hashtag "Messi arrived in Beijing"  became the most viewed topic on Weibo, attracting more than 120 million reads as of press time.

However, soccer fans engaged into disputes with security guards near the hotel, as the latter used sheets to block entranceway used by the Argentinean team bus to enter the hotel. “Refund my money!...Do you really have to do that?” fans were heard shouting in a video posted online.
 
Media also reported that Messi was held  in the airport for hours as he brought only his Spanish passport not his Argentine one. Fortunately, after several hours,  customs  issued Messi an expedited visa, to show his gratitude, Messi gave the border  management office a thumbs-up.
 
The Chinese Embassy began making available a 10-year multiple-entry tourist L visa and business M visa for Argentinean citizens from  2017. The required documents for this visa classes mirror that of normal applications. The maximum allowed stay duration for ten-year L / M visa types is 90 days 
Messi will lead world champions Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15.

Messi and Argentina's National team have a huge fanbase in China, with unprecedented level of interest in seeing the team play.

Some swindlers began to seize the opportunity to cash in on the event, spreading information that paying 50,000 yuan ($7,012) would allow fans to meet Messi and 300,000 yuan would lead to a personalized toast from the World Cup winner. 

Match organizers issued a warning on Friday, saying that no commercial or charity activities involving the players had been arranged reminding fans to remain vigilant against fraudulent events.

"Messi's visit to China is very meaningful for us fans, as this is probably the last time he visits as a professional football player, and the first time Argentina national football team have visited China since claiming the World Cup," said Zhang, noting that this visit is an important part of his long passion associated with Messi and team Argentina.

Days before coming to China, Messi surprised the public, announcing a move to Major League Soccer to join Inter Miami.

Global Times