Argentina tours the world to make money, is Messi s love for the Blue and Whites being exploited?

It was reported that Angola had to pay an appearance fee of up to 12 million US dollars to invite the Argentine national team to play a friendly match in the capital Luanda. This matter caused widespread controversy in Argentina.

Since winning the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the Argentine Football Association has received a large number of friendly match invitations from all over the world. These invitations come not only from other football associations, but also from event agencies, sponsors, and even some national governments. The price quoted for each game depends on the time, location, local market appeal, sponsor involvement, and the most critical factor - undoubtedly whether Messi will play. The Argentine Football Association is well aware of this and is actively seizing this "golden window", even at the cost of long journeys and high-intensity schedules.

This also explains why the Argentina team led by Scaloni went to an African country more than 7,800 kilometers away from Buenos Aires for the first time. Messi himself has never set foot in Angola before, and this trip requires a variety of vaccinations in accordance with local health requirements.

In fact, this game against Angola, which is ranked 89th in the world and has missed the World Cup, is only one of the 11 exhibition friendly matches that Argentina has played since 2022. During this period, they only played Panama and Curacao at home twice, and the remaining games were all scheduled overseas - including multiple trips to Asia, Africa, and as many as six games in other countries in the Americas.

Therefore, many Argentinian public opinion criticized Claudio Tapia, chairman of the Football Association, for being "profit-oriented" and only focusing on maximizing commercial gains; while head coach Scaloni was accused of choosing to remain silent, acquiescing to all arrangements, and failing to use international match days as efficiently as other strong teams to optimize the pace of preparations.

While many of Europe's top teams avoid long-distance flights to protect their players' physical fitness, Argentina does the opposite and continues to consume the national team's resources - just because they hold the "hen that lays golden eggs" in their hands: Messi.