Major League Soccer suspended Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba for one game each after they missed Wednesday night’s All-Star Game in Austin, Texas, the league said Friday afternoon.
“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’s next match,” an MLS spokesperson said, confirming the news.
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The ruling should partially quell the narrative among fans and some team executives that Inter Miami has its own set of rules due to its importance to the league’s economic engine—an engine driven by Messi and friends. Earlier Friday, ESPN published a story quoting Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano saying Messi would be available to play on Saturday.
MLS rules are clear that players face a one-game suspension for missing the All-Star Game for any reason but injury. The absence of Messi, who missed the 2024 game due to an injury, and Alba, was revealed hours ahead of the game.
“Yeah, we should have known earlier,” Don Garber, MLS commissioner, said at his pre-game press conference in Austin. “We should have addressed it earlier. No doubt about that.”
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Garber straddled both sides of the Messi suspension question during his presser. “Miami had a schedule that is unlike any other team,” Garber said. “Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn’t. We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games. That’s nine games in 35 days.”
He later added, “We do have rules, and we have to manage through that.”
In 2018, MLS suspended Zlatan Ibrahimović one game after he skipped that year’s All-Star Game, a decision the former Swedish soccer star called “ridiculous.”
All-Star Games are a rarity in global soccer, but they are ubiquitous in North American sports leagues. “We have an All-Star Game that we think is a real priority,” Garber said. “How do you make that a priority for your stakeholders, not just your players, but your fans, your partners? … First time we got all of our CSOs here, all of our CBOs here, all of our owners here. It is an important mid-season break for us.”
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Inter Miami set a new bar last year for MLS with estimated revenue of $190 million, including a small distribution from the league and then matchday (tickets and stadium) and commercial (sponsors and merchandise) revenue estimated to be roughly $90 million each. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization topped $50 million.
Inter Miami ranked second at $1.19 billion in the most recent Sportico MLS team valuations.
MLS All-Stars won Wednesday’s All-Star Game over Liga MX All-Stars, 3-1.
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