While Major League Soccer’s biggest stars will take the pitch in Austin, Texas, Lionel Messi won’t be one of them.
The Inter Miami star will not participate in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game, despite being voted onto the roster, and raises an interesting conundrum for the league.
By not participating in the MLS All-Star Game for any reason other than an injury, Messi is flouting league rules that would make him eligible to be suspended for one game.
Lionel Messi could face a suspension for skipping the MLS All-Star Game. ISI Photos via Getty Images
MLS commissioner Don Garber declined to say whether or not the soccer superstar would be given a suspension during a press conference ahead of the All-Star Game.
“We’re not going to talk about today, because the game’s not till this coming weekend,” Garber said. “We don’t need to announce that now. We’re managing through that process as we speak.”
Inter Miami is scheduled to face Cincinnati on Saturday in its final regular-season game before the league pauses for the Leagues Cup tournament.
Garber appeared to express some sympathy for Messi and Inter Miami, which have had nine games in 35 days between the Club World Cup and MLS season, all of which he’s played 90 minutes in.
“We have to manage through that as a league, at the same time, we do have rules and we have to manage through that as well,” Garber said. “We would have loved to have Leo here. We’d have loved to have every player that was selected for the All-Star team here. After this All-Star game, we’ll figure out what needs to happen this weekend.”
The MLS commissioner did note that Messi did not practice on Wednesday and hinted at the possibility that Miami could suggest Messi was hurt.
“We’ll have to manage through what Miami is going to say about that,” he said.
Inter Miami’s head coach, Javier Mascherano, had expressed a desire for Messi, and Jordi Alba, to rest instead of playing in the All-Star Game.
“The players are called up, I would like them to be able to rest but that is not my decision,” he said ahead of Miami’s win over the Red Bulls last weekend.
Alba is not participating in the All-Star Game as well.
Lionel Messi (l.) and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba (r.) are both skipping the MLS All-Star Game. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Messi missed last year’s festivities due to the ankle injury he suffered in the 2024 Copa América final and Alba did take part in the skills challenge and All-Star match against stars from Liga MX.
The Liga MX All-Stars will include Monterrey defender and former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos.
MLS has enforced its rule regarding players skipping the All-Star Game in the past, including against Zlatan Ibrahimović when he was a member of the LA Galaxy in 2018.
Ibrahimović had sharply criticized the policy and in comments to reporters, he said that “I come from a different world, I come from the real world.”