Lionel Messi will miss his second consecutive MLS All-Star Game, but will avoid a suspension for it this time around.
Messi missed the 2025 MLS All-Star Game due to fatigue and was given a one-game ban as a result, which led to tension between him and league commissioner Don Garber. Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas called Messi’s 2025 suspension “draconian.”
Garber later acknowledged the league could have handled the situation better and joked to Front Office Sports, “I don’t think he wants to talk to me,” when asked about his relationship with the Inter Miami star at the time.
Over the weekend, MLS announced that Messi and his Argentina and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul would both avoid punishment after leading their country to the World Cup final on July 19. Spain defeated Argentina 1–0 in the final for its second World Cup title.
“Prior to the start of the 2026 season, Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association agreed that upon a player’s exit from the World Cup competition, clubs would have individual conversations with each player to determine the appropriate rest and return to training and competition timeline, the league said in a statement on Saturday.
“Consistent with that agreement, Rodrigo De Paul and Lionel Messi will be excused from participating in the 2026 MLS All-Star Game.”
Both Messi and De Paul have yet to play in either of Inter Miami’s two games since the World Cup ended. They are exempt from games through early August as part of the 21-day rest period FIFA and FIFPRO, the players’ global governing body, agreed to for the end of each season, including international play.
MLS is seeking to capitalize on the country’s appetite for soccer after the U.S. successfully co-hosted the World Cup.
“As the water level for the sport grows, MLS has got a lot of boats on it,” Garber recently told Front Office Sports. “It’s on us to earn the trust, the respect, the fan connection in our beautiful stadiums to convert a newbie to the sport.”
Garber also told FOS that his relationship with Messi is improving a year after the suspension.
“He’s still mad at me,” Garber said. “We’re communicating a little more.”
