Lionel Messi and now Gonzalo Higuain to miss Singapore game

SINGAPORE –  It is confirmed: Football superstar Lionel Messi will not be playing in next Tuesday's (June 13) international friendly against Singapore at the National Stadium.

This was confirmed by match organisers UNICESS in a media release sent out late Saturday night (June 10), just hours after the Argentina team touched down at Changi Airport at around 5pm from Melbourne where they had played Brazil in an international friendly on Friday (June 9).

In front of 95,000 fans, Barcelona striker and Argentina captain Messi played in his country's 1-0 win.

But he - and two other players, striker Gonzalo Higuain and defender Nicolas Otamendi - will not be playing against the Lions next Tuesday.

Messi arrived together with the Argentina team in Singapore and made his way to the team’s hotel, but then departed for the airport again in a chartered vehicle a few hours later, where he is expected to fly back to Barcelona.

In the media release, UNICESS said: “Further to the speculation from the last two days, match promoter UNICESS have received confirmation this evening that due to personal reasons, Lionel Messi, Nicolas Otamendi and Gonzalo Higuain will not feature in the Singapore vs Argentina football match at the National Stadium on Tuesday 13 June 2017.

“While we share the disappointment of football fans in Singapore and elsewhere at the absence of these players, we still very much look forward to what will be an exciting football match against a team that will continue to feature a world class line-up of players. We very much hope that fans will enjoy this historical fixture and we encourage fans to show their support for the Lions at the National Stadium as they take on the No. 2 ranked team in the world.”

There was no statement from the FAS, who is the official sanctioning body for the game.

Regarded as one of the best players of his generation, the prolific Barcelona striker, a five-time Fifa Ballon d’Or (World Player of the Year) award winner, was promoted as one of the star attractions of the match. Announced in mid-April, the glamour friendly is being organised to mark the 125th anniversary of the FAS.

However, Argentinian newspaper Clarin had reported on Thursday (June 8) that Messi would be missing the fixture to prepare for his wedding to girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo on June 30.

This was subsequently confirmed by Argentina head coach Jorge Sampaoli during a media conference on Thursday morning in Melbourne, where he added that Manchester City’s Otamendi was also getting married and would miss the Singapore trip as well.

Fans who had bought tickets, in particular those who did so in order to catch Messi, were left feeling outraged after the news broke, as reported by TODAY. Tickets to the Singapore v Argentina game are priced at S$40, S$78, S$138 and S$188.

This is because UNICESS and the FAS were reaffirming Messi’s participation even up to last Friday, stating in a media release that a “full-strength Argentinian squad, including Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain” had been selected to take part in the fixture.