Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba suspended for skipping MLS All-Star Game

Messi and Alba were both selected for the 2025 MLS All-Star team in the first round of voting. They remained on the All-Star roster until mere hours before the All-Star game kickoff, when it became apparent that neither had traveled to Austin for the match.

The All-Star game was scheduled for July 23; Miami knew it had a crucial Eastern Conference clash against FC Cincinnati a few days later on July 26. Cincinnati's biggest stars, defender Miles Robinson and attacker Evander, were both slated to appear in the All-Star game. 

Haunted by its heavy defeat to Cincinnati earlier in the season and hungry for some advantage — any advantage — over its rival, Miami appears to have made a bet here. It kept its players out of the All-Star game, gave them an extra few days of rest, and gambled that MLS wouldn't dare punish its big-name stars. That gamble did not pay off.

"I know Lionel Messi loves this league. I don’t think there’s a player – or anyone – who has done more for Major League Soccer than Messi. I fully understand, respect, and admire his commitment to Inter Miami, and I respect his decision," said MLS commissioner Don Garber.

"Unfortunately, we have a long-standing policy regarding participation in the All-Star Game, and we had to enforce it. It was a very difficult decision."

MLS has done the right thing here by hewing close to its own policy. If Cincinnati had pulled the same stunt with Evander and Robinson, MLS would've suspended them without question; Messi, Alba and Miami should not be granted an exception simply because of their global fame. But still, there are important questions to be asked here about fixture pile-up in the middle of the MLS season. 

The majority of teams in MLS had competitive matches scheduled four days before and three days after the All-Star Game, many in far-flung cities. Asking any soccer player to compete in, say, New York on Saturday, Austin on Wednesday and Miami on Saturday, as Inter Miami's All-Stars were expected to do, is pushing it. Asking 38-year-old Lionel Messi to do that is borderline unconscionable. 

It's hardly surprising that he and Miami conspired to skip the middle leg of their schedule. It's just too much travel — and too much action — for a player of Messi's age and caliber. Miami and its players deserve to be punished for breaking the rules, but the All-Star Game schedule needs a rethink, too.

"We’re going to take a hard look at the policy moving forward," Garber said. "I’m committed to working with our players to determine how the rule should evolve."

Inter Miami will face FC Cincinnati — its biggest rival in the Eastern Conference this season — without Messi and Alba on Saturday.