Inter Miami Accused of Hiding Truth About Lionel Messi’s Injury By Ex-MLS Stars

Ale Moreno on Messi's Injury: “They gave no information whatsoever”

On ESPN FC, former MLS player and analyst Alejandro Moreno ripped Inter Miami’s medical report, calling it “as vague as vague can be and as open-ended as it can be.”

He said, “It’s a medical report without being a medical report. Basically they can check the box of providing the report they needed to provide and then that’s it. They gave no information whatsoever.”

Moreno said the phrase “muscle discomfort” doesn’t fit the reality of a player like Messi coming off the field that early. “Muscle discomfort doesn’t get Lionel Messi off the field, OK? So obviously there’s something he’s done, some soft-tissue injury. We don’t know what that is because Inter Miami hasn’t provided all the information.”

The former Venezuelaninternational also pointed out a pattern with Miami and Messi. “When I say it’s open-ended, it’s like, ‘we’ll see how the recovery goes.’ We’ve seen this before from Lionel Messi in Inter Miami and it’s gone beyond the two-to-three week period. So I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case right now.”

He said if this is a soft-tissue injury, like a hamstring, “at least two weeks“ before we see Messi back on the field.

This is not the first time Messi's health has been unclear. He has had a history of soft-tissue issues during the 2024 and 2025 seasons (adductors and hamstrings) that have caused him to miss time for both club and country.

That history, along with the lack of information from the club, has led to speculation around whether Inter Miami is downplaying the situation to protect its commercial interests and ticket sales.

Moreno was joined by former MLS forward Herculez Gomez, who shared the same skepticism. “They’re gonna milk this,” he said. “Every single time he doesn’t show up, and it’ll somehow affect the gate in a positive way. It will somehow affect sponsorships in a positive way. If you’re today saying Messi’s out for the next month, the viewership would take a break. The gate will plummet and go down, and they use it to their advantage.”

He concluded by pointing to the real motivator: “It all comes back to money. It’s never minor when Messi comes out. He’s not that type of guy. He wants to play every single game.”