630 euros to watch Messi in the Argentina friendly against Australia

Chinese football fans will have to pay up to 630 euros to watch Argentine world champion Lionel Messi play in Beijing on June 15, in the friendly match between Albi Celeste and Australia.

This meeting in Beijing against the Australian national team, which Argentina defeated 2-1 in the round of 16 in the World Cup in Qatar, represents a great return for international football to China, after three years of strict health restrictions that emptied stadiums and led to the cancellation of several sports competitions, as the match will be held in The “Workers” stadium, which was recently renovated and has a capacity of 68,000 spectators.

Organizers said tickets, which will be sold in two stages on June 5 and 8, will range in price from 580 yuan (76 euros) to 4,800 yuan.

In order to avoid illegal re-sale, buyers must present their identification, which will be verified at the entrance to the stadium.

According to the organizers, “it is not allowed to transfer or copy tickets,” but on the “Taobao” platform, the most popular online sale in China, many merchants have already provided ticketing service, and one of them requested 18,000 yuan (approximately 2,400 euros) to reserve “VI” seats. B” (VIP).

Fans sharply criticized Friday’s ticket price hike on Weibo, the social network.

One of them wrote, commenting on the official account of the organizers, “I will convict you of theft,” and another asked sarcastically, “For 4,800 yuan, will Messi carry us on his back while playing?”