Lionel Messi and David Beckham were booed on Sunday after the Argentina superstar sat out Inter Miamis pre-season friendly in Hong Kong.

The World Cup-winning captain, who has a hamstring strain, stayed rooted to the bench throughout the 4-1 friendly win against a Hong Kong select XI.

It brought a show of anger from the near-capacity crowd of 38,323 who had paid upwards of 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($125) to see their hero, and in many cases a lot more.

Halfway through the second-half, chants of We want Messi rose around the Hong Kong Stadium from fans desperate to see the greatest footballer of his generation in the much-hyped exhibition game.

The booing became louder during the last 10 minutes when it became clear that the eight-time Ballon dOr winner would not make even the briefest of cameos.

The jeers rose to a crescendo at the final whistle after former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez also failed to take to the pitch because of a knee injury.

Miami co-owner Beckham was drowned out by booing as he tried to thank the crowd for their incredible support while fans signalled their anger with thumbs-down gestures.

We understand the disappointment of the fans for the absence of Leo (Messi) and Luis Suarez, Miami coach Gerardo Martino told reporters, explaining the clubs medical team had taken the decision after an assessment on Sunday morning.

We understand a lot of fans are very disappointed and we ask for their forgiveness.

We wish we could have sent Leo and Luis on for at least a while but the risk was too big.

The 36-year-old Messi played just six minutes in Miamis last match, in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, and now faces a race against time to be fit for the new MLS season which starts on February 21.

˜Messi Mania

It was a bitter end to days of Hong Kong Messi mania in the lead-up to the match.

Tens of thousands turned up just to watch him train on Saturday, where he did little more than jog and stretch.

The team hotel was besieged by hundreds of fans trying to glimpse their hero, and a traditional junk boat was cruising around Victoria harbour with Messis face plastered across sails.

Messi shirts had been flying off the shelves after tickets for the match sold out in an hour when they went on sale in December.

Miamis starting line-up featured neither of their other former Barcelona stars, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Robert Taylor opened the scoring for the MLS side in the 40^thminute with a delightful right-foot curling shot from the left-hand edge of the box.

Two minutes later Hong Kongs Henri Anier laced a left-foot finish home to make it 1-1.

Miami regained the lead after half-time when Lawson Sunderland found the target from close range and Leonardo Campana increased the lead in the 56^thminute.

Busquets and Alba finally made an appearance from the bench after 62 minutes to a smattering of cheers before Ryan Sailor rounded off the scoring for Miami in the 85^thminute with a glancing header.

It was Miamis first win in five matches on their globe-trotting pre-season tour.

They now move on to Japan for a friendly against Vissel Kobe on Wednesday before flying back to the United States. (AFP)

Fans cheer for Inter Miamis Argentine forward Lionel Messi before the friendly football match between Hong Kong XI and US Inter Miami CF in Hong Kong on February 4, 2024. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)