Source: USA TODAY Sports/Dale Zanine
[Saba Sports News] This summer, 14 European clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, Brighton, Newcastle United, and Stuttgart, had planned to tour China. However, they have now changed their plans and decided to tour Japan instead. The Japanese magazine “Friday” provides insights into the reasons behind this shift. Originally, these European teams intended to visit China during the off-season. However, the Lionel Messi incident altered their plans. In February of this year, International Miami, which owns Messi, traveled to Hong Kong for a friendly match, but Messi did not play in the game. Three days later, Messi played in a friendly match in Japan. This incident angered the Chinese, resulting in Messi facing numerous attacks on social media. In response, the Chinese Football Association informed European clubs that if they wished to play commercial games in China, they would be required to field 90% of their key players, and this condition had to be included in the contract. With the European Championship and Copa America taking place this summer, no one was willing to take the risk. As a result, many clubs decided to forgo their planned tours to China during the off-season.