Lionel Messi’s Argentina to play in Singapore in early 2026

SINGAPORE – Fans here could get to catch superstar Lionel Messi in action with the announcement that the Argentina national football team are to play a friendly match in Singapore in early 2026.

Global bank HSBC and the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) said in a joint statement on March 26 that the World Cup and Copa America champions will also play an exhibition game in India in October 2025.

The matches are part of a one-year partnership between AFA and HSBC, said the bank.

HSBC said its customers and partners will have access to “exclusive perks”, including tickets, curated fan experiences and meet-and-greet opportunities. It added: “This collaboration bridges the worlds of banking and sport, marking the first time a banking institution has collaborated with the Argentinian national football team in Singapore and India.”

AFA president Claudio Tapia was happy to have HSBC as sponsors of the tour. “The AFA’s international expansion continues to pave the way for leading companies such as HSBC to join the Argentinian national team family,” he said.

The Argentina team were last in Singapore in 2017, when they defeated the hosts 6-0. Messi was due to play in the friendly, but left the team to prepare for his wedding to Antonela Roccuzzo.

It proved a disappointment for fans, who had forked out between $40 and $188 for tickets.

Argentina fan Eu Chun Yee, 29, who had front-row tickets to the match in 2017, said: “Hopefully, he (Messi) plays this time round but I wouldn’t set my hopes high... I would definitely pay to watch, even if he doesn’t come in 2026.

“If (he is on the bench), I would say it is definitely an upgrade compared to 2017. There’s still a chance we may see him come on and also see him during pre-match warmups and half-time.”

Another fan, Omarali Suprat, 30, added: “I am willing to pay top dollar to watch him play, even if it was for 10 minutes. It’s not often that one gets these kinds of opportunities.”

In 2024, the Inter Miami star did not come off the bench during his team’s 4-1 win in a pre-season match against a Hong Kong XI.

Some had interpreted his absence as a snub to China after the Argentina great was fit enough to take the field for 30 minutes in a friendly a few days later in Japan.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner insisted he was carrying an adductor muscle injury. Many fans among the around 38,000 sell-out crowd, who had paid upwards of HK$880 (S$150) for the tickets, booed him after the match.

The backlash prompted China to cancel Argentina’s subsequent friendlies in Hangzhou and Beijing.