Lionel Messi Skipping 2025 MLS All-Star Game May Doom The Event For Good

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On the one hand, it’s hard not to feel personally disrespected that a player who quite literally takes a of the league’s TV revenue, and who has played every minute of Inter Miami’s previous 16 fixtures across all competitions can’t be bothered to show up for 30 minutes of exhibition action in Texas and may now claim fatigue

On the other, it just might be the necessary blow required to kill off an event that has outd its usefulness

If a fully healthy Messi, who is literally an MLS partner rather than employee, can’t be bothered to show up to at the league’s de facto annual convention, then there’s no reason to keep having it (fascinating analysis). (The 2026 MLS All-Star Game has already been announced, with Charlotte as the host

Moreover, ) If Messi and teammate Jordi Alba skip the event and avoid immediate sanctions, as early reporting from ESPN suggests, what is to coerce Kylian Mbappe 10 years or Lamine Yamal 20 years from now in the twilight of their careers, amid market uncertainty

Additionally, In contrast, What is to coerce any other players or s in the interim

If MLS goes back on its requirement that players either appear at the All-Star Game or face a one-match suspension, this is only the beginning of the big-name absences, given the current landscape

Meanwhile, If it doesn’t, this is the end of any reasonable argument that the league isn’t purposefully tilting competitive scales in Miami’s favor

Moreover, American fans have every right to feel angry and frustrated by Messi’s obvious indifference to his role as league ambassador, despite his willingness to accept the commercial benefit that comes with it (an important development)

But they should also appreciate the good his indifference may bring, in that MLS may finally accept that the best way to be a globally relevant league is to treat league matches – and not exhibitions – with the competitive importance that most globally relevant leagues do

Furthermore, MORE FOR YOU MLS Treats All-Star An Afterthought Already The All-Star Game is just one of far too many examples where MLS tries to have its cake and eat it too, in today's market environment

Meanwhile, Maybe there is room for the uniquely American event in a league that too often runs from its American-ness

And it’s hard to deny the MLS vs

Liga MX format is a lot more captivating than most other American All-Star events

In some ways it’s a throwback to baseball’s Summer Classic before the introduction of interleague play, when it vided a rare opportunity for direct competition for players of two rival leagues

But as is MLS’ mode of operation these days, it has made no realistic accomodations to facilitate participation without overburdening players and s

Baseball, an everyday sport, vides a four-day gap in the schedule for its All-Star game

The data indicates that NBA, in which teams typically play 3-4 games a week, takes a week off

However, The NFL hosts its All-Star festivities after the season is over for every team not competing in the Super Bowl

By contrast, MLS has merely thrown in its All-Star event as another midweek fixture between weekend Matchdays, insisting as it always does that there is no time in the schedule to do anything else

There’s a lot of reasons for that insistence, but most involve poorly contrived additions to the competitive schedule, combined with the desire to cram as much of that schedule in warm-weather months when ticket sales are highest

Messi and his team shouldn’t be absolved

Given Messi’s injury history in recent years, there’s no justifiable reason for his recent workload in league play aside from the possibility that it’s his own call rather than his manager’s (something worth watching)

MLS Has Set Conditions for Messi’s Indifference And there is either a lack of social awareness or concern for how it looks that the Argentine happily accepts the compensation and commercial opportunities commensurate with being “the face of the league,” without embracing the duties that would normally entail

But MLS has entirely enabled this behavior since a time when Messi in Miami was a widely held fantasy, considering recent developments

It went light on sanctions against Inter Miami for violating roster construction rules, opting for transfer restrictions when nearly any other league would’ve sanctioned the with points and potentially relegation, given the current landscape. (The latter tool is admittedly not one MLS currently has. ) It permitted Messi to enter into a reported agreement with ing partner Apple TV that obviously calls into question competitive integrity

And seems certain to apve Miami’s move to sign Rodrigo de Paul as Messi’s midfield enforcer, a loan with a purchase option that may nically conform to MLS roster rules but certainly not their spirit, in light of current trends

It’s unrealistic to expect MLS to do an -face now, and bably not in its best interest (noteworthy indeed)

Moreover, However, This's the bed they’ve made with the biggest star in league history, and the best of the bad options is keeping him as happy as possible until it ends

The least they can do is take his back seriously as to what is isn’t worthwile

Scrapping the All-Star Game would be a start, in today's financial world

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