MLS changed tack on Messi: from 2025 ban to 2026 All-Star absence | OneFootball

The story between Lionel Messi and the MLS All-Star Game added a new chapter. Unlike the tense episode in 2025, when the league strictly enforced its rules and sanctioned the Argentine star, the organization confirmed that the Inter Miami captain will not take part in the 2026 MLS All-Star Game in Charlotte, but this time through a previously agreed institutional framework and without any disciplinary repercussions.

In July 2025, the clash between the demands of the schedule and the league’s rules sparked major controversy. At that time, Lionel Messi and his teammate Jordi Alba decided not to attend the All-Star Game held in Austin after facing an exhausting run of matches between the domestic championship and the Herons’ participation in the Club World Cup.

Since the absence was reported only a few hours before the event and did not have a medical exemption or prior approval from the authorities, MLS applied its long-standing policy: to suspend for one official match any selected player who misses the All-Star Game without an approved reason.

That sanction prevented Messi and Alba from playing in the following match against FC Cincinnati. The decision caused discontent within Inter Miami’s management and fueled debate over the flexibility of the rules regarding rest and player care. The league’s commissioner, Don Garber, even acknowledged after the incident the need to work together with the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) to review and update the regulations.

The agreement between Messi and MLS for the 2026 All-Star Game

The lessons from 2025 paid off for the current season. Before the start of the 2026 campaign, MLS and the MLSPA agreed on a specific protocol to manage players’ physical workload after their participation in the World Cup.

The agreement stipulates that, following a player’s elimination or exit from the world tournament, each club has the authority to hold individual conversations with the player to mutually determine their rest schedule and plan for returning to training and competition.

Under this agreed framework, the league office announced that both Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul were exempted from participating in the exhibition match without incurring any type of penalty.

Messi prepares to return to the United States

The captain of the Argentine national team is spending his vacation in Rosario after returning there from the United States following the 2026 World Cup. Inter Miami, which has already resumed official competition, is awaiting his return in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the star has used his time off to watch a Leones de Rosario match, the club chaired by his brother, and is sharing private family moments before returning to his routine.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.