After Inter Miami’s 3-1 Concacaf Champions Cup victory over Nashville SC on Saturday night, Miami manager Tata Martino revealed that Lionel Messi’s substitution early in the second half was due to a leg injury, and that he would most likely not play in Saturday’s league match against D.C. United.
Messi entered the game with an injury sustained in the first meeting of the round-of-16 series with Nashville the previous week, and he had already missed last weekend’s 3-2 league loss to CF Montreal.
He’ll almost certainly miss the next two MLS games, first in D.C. as an injury precaution, and then the following week at the New York Red Bulls while representing Argentina during the March international window.
Looking ahead, it wouldn’t be shocking if he missed Miami’s home encounter against New York City FC on March 30, with Leg 1 of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals just three or four days later.
The timing is not ideal for Miami, given the fixture congestion that comes with balancing league play and continental competition. However, the Herons have plenty of time in the second half of the season to recuperate from these absences, as well as others that are expected when Messi plays for Argentina in the Copa America this summer.
It’s probably not good news for Major League Soccer as a whole.
For starters, Messi will miss what may be his team’s last excursions to the two cities with the highest concentrations of international journalists in the United States. While there will undoubtedly be larger crowds to see Messi in other places than at Audi Field or Red Bull Arena, it will be difficult to match the global media exposure that those two visits could have provided.
And his return to the injury shelf will also limit his live appearances on Apple TV, because the league’s worldwide streaming partner owns rights to all MLS regular season and playoff games as well as the Leagues Cup — but not the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Saturday’s game at D.C. is the kickoff of a weekend where all 14 MLS games are available for free in front of the MLS Season Pass paywall. And Messi’s absence is bound to have a blunting impact on the event intended to generate interest in the subscription service.
The episode is also reminder of just how little leverage Major League Soccer has in terms of maximizing the exposure of its most-prized asset.
Messi’s deal to join Inter Miami reportedly included an agreement with Apple TV that included a cut of the subscription fees Apple sold to the Season Pass service. But in his role as an Inter Miami player, the priority has always been trying to win trophies, regardless of who has the rights to the competition.
Because of Concacaf competition this season, in the United States Messi has played as many games on the FOX family of TV channels as on Season Pass — three each (One league game was shown on both). Absurdly on FOX’s part (and presumably because of contract obligations only) both of Messi’s Champions Cup games so far have been relegated to FS2.
Messi and Miami’s calculus is reasonable: winning the Concacaf Champions Cup would earn them a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup and $5 million in prize money. However, anything short of winning the entire tournament — to which FOX has the rights — is unlikely to benefit the MLS.
Consider last year, when Messi’s desperation to compete in the U.S. Open Cup so soon after winning the Leagues Cup contributed to his injury, which hindered him in league play down the stretch. The more cynical MLS watcher would even argue the league’s attempt to leave the tournament entirely in 2024 came about because it was an easier answer than telling Messi and Miami personally to ignore it e it didn’t include games shown on Season Pass.
Obviously, the truth is more convoluted. However, since Messi’s first announcement that he would be joining Inter Miami, MLS has been forced to follow his lead rather than the other way around. And this spring and summer, that may mean reluctantly watching as Messi puts league participation on hold to ensure his health for the remainder of Miami’s Champions Cup campaign and Argentina’s Copa America preparations.
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