Last weekend, Messi flew to Beijing on a private jet with his bodyguard and teammate Angel Di Maria to prepare for Argentina's friendly match with Australia on June 15. But upon arriving in the Chinese capital, the 35-year-old star was detained by police.

According to Chinese media, the problem arose because Messi used a Spanish passport instead of an Argentine passport, so he was not allowed to enter the country directly.

After reporting that he did not have an Argentine passport, Messi had to stay at the airport for two hours before being issued a visa by the police to resolve the paperwork and enter China.

Messi detained by Beijing police at airport

But the trouble did not stop there, according to Chinese media, Messi and the Argentine players were "stuck" in a hotel in Beijing because a large number of fans gathered outside.

"Messi" quickly became the top trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo , with videos showing hundreds of fans crowding the hotel's main entrance in the hope of catching a glimpse of their idol.

The Global Times later quoted friendly organizers as saying that Argentina’s training session on June 11 was postponed because “overzealous” fans prevented the players from leaving their hotels. One man even spent nearly $1,500 to book rooms at several luxury hotels in Beijing with the goal of meeting Messi in person.

According to the Global Times , tickets for the friendly match between Australia and Argentina cost $670, but were sold out within 20 minutes. Black markets and resale websites advertised tickets for many times the original price.

Chinese police have warned fans to be wary of scams, after an advertisement went viral on Weibo offering to spend $42,000 to have dinner with Messi. The Beijing police bureau denied the claim on its official Weibo account, joking: "If you can be scammed out of $42,000, our police will toast to you."

Several unofficial Weibo accounts also claimed to offer VIP tickets, front row seats at the Workers' Stadium - where the friendly match between Argentina and Australia took place, as well as signed Argentina jerseys at exorbitant prices.

China is a place that holds beautiful memories for Messi, when he and Argentina won the gold medal in men's football in Beijing in 2008. In this tournament, Messi assisted Angel Di Maria to score the decisive goal in the final match against Nigeria.

Hong Duy