2 days Ago By Mike Chan
Fifa World Cup winners Antoine Griezmann, Rodrigo De Paul, Nahuel Molina and Angel Correa are set to be among the Atletico Madrid stars who take on Kitchee in Hong Kong this summer. The La Liga team are expected to play the local side at Hong Kong Stadium on August 7, as part of a preseason tour of Asia. Ken Ng Kin, owner of the Hong Kong Premier League outfit, said the contract terms stipulated Atletico’s star names would play in Hong Kong, barring injuries, transfers, personal matters or international call-ups.
Mindful of the Lionel Messi saga in February, when the Argentina captain caused outrage by sitting out Inter Miami’s visit to the city, Ng admitted it was difficult to guarantee a minimum appearance time for certain players and said he “can only trust” Atletico. Ng also revealed that, despite the Messi disappointment, government advisory body the Major Sports Events Committee was to contribute to the cost of luring the 11-time La Liga champions. He said the total cost was an eight-figure sum close to what the club forked out for their 2019 match against Manchester City.
“The amount is confidential, not far off what we paid to bring Manchester City to town, but it is slightly cheaper than that,” Ng said, adding that there would be no repeat of the ticket pricing for the ill-fated Miami match, when fans paid up to HK$4,880 (US$624) for admission. “With the subsidy from the government, we won’t lose money, for sure,” he said. “The support from the [c.
