Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba will not play for Inter Miami Saturday night when they host FC Cincinnati. The two have been suspended \u2014 “unavailable,” as MLS put it \u2014 after they missed the 2025 MLS All-Star Game this week.<\/p>\n
“Inter Miami CF\u2019s Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi will be unavailable for the club\u2019s match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26, due to their absence at this week\u2019s Major League Soccer All-Star Game,” said MLS in a statement. “Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club\u2019s next match.<\/p>\n
Both Messi and Alba were voted into the All-Star Game but did not take part in any events earlier this week in Austin, Texas. According to ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano<\/a>, league officials and Inter Miami representatives held talks about whether both players would be available for the Cincinnati game.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season<\/a>]<\/p>\n The league has enforced this policy before after former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 was suspended one game<\/a> when he missed the 2018 All-Star Game against Serie A side Juventus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have rules, and we have to manage through that as well,\u201d said MLS commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday. \u201cWe would have loved to have Leo here. We\u2019d love to have every player that was selected for the All-Star team here. After this All-Star Game, we\u2019ll figure out what needs to happen. I was told this morning that neither Jordi nor Messi practiced today [Wednesday]. Jordi came off with an injury in last game, and we\u2019ll have to manage through what Miami is going to say about that.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, head coach Javier Mascherano noted Inter Miami’s busy schedule of late and why Messi and Alba needed the time away.<\/p>\n “What I think is that if they want to do this type of event, it’s great to do it, and the truth is that it’s great for the league,” Mascherano said. “There shouldn’t be a date in the schedule. It’s crazy. We’ve been playing four of the last five games away. We’ve been playing four away. We’ve been playing practically every three days.<\/p>\n “Stop for the weekend, the All-Star Game is played on the weekend, and we come back because after Wednesday, today, 48 hours after having played, there are teams that are going to play today, and it’s not enough rest for the players either. So, the first thing we have to think about is that football belongs to the players. And if football belongs to the players, without players, it doesn’t exist.”<\/p>\n