Inter Miami CF's Lionel Messi will not play in this week's MLS All-Star Game, the league announced Monday, eight days after the Argentine superstar left his team's Copa America final win over Colombia with an ankle injury.
Messi's teammate Luis Suarez will also miss the game due to “knee discomfort”, according to the team. Barcelona's other two former stars, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, will play.
Both players were among those unavailable for Wednesday's game in Columbus, Ohio, which will pit the league's 18-club MLS stars against the top talents of Mexico's Liga MX. Messi was also sidelined for Miami's last two league games, wins over Toronto FC and Chicago Fire on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.
The game would have been the 37-year-old Messi's MLS All-Star debut after joining Inter Miami in July 2023 following a storied career in Europe.
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, has 12 goals and 13 assists in his first 12 games of 2024 with Inter Miami, making him the fastest player to contribute 25 goals in an MLS season. Miami currently sits atop the Supporters' Shield standings for the best record in MLS with 53 points.
Messi and Suarez aren't the only MLS stars who won't be in attendance, as Real Salt Lake forward Cristian Arango (the league's leading scorer this season) is serving a four-game suspension for violating the team's anti-harassment policy.
Arango leads MLS with 17 goals, which ties the RSL single-season record set by Alvaro Saborio in 2012. He will also miss RSL's League Cup opener at home against Atlas on Aug. 1.
The All-Star Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET on July 24.
Information from Reuters was used in this story.
