Lionel Messi Removed From 2026 MLS All-Star Game Roster

Lionel Messi has been named to three-consecutive MLS All-Star rosters and has missed the game each time.

Lionel Messi is missing another MLS All-Star game. | Rich Storry/Getty Images

Lionel Messi won’t be at the 2026 MLS All-Star game, as the 39-year-old soccer legend has opted to skip the showcase match for the third-straight season. Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul has also been removed from the roster after both represented Argentina on the road to the 2026 World World Cup final last week.

Four roster replacements were named Saturday, as Hugo Cuypers and Mbekezeli Mbokazi will also be absent. Cuypers, who was the MLS Golden Boot co-leader earlier in the season, is no longer a part of the league after Chicago Fire sold him to Liga MX’s CF Monterrey following the introduction of star forward Robert Lewandowski. Mbokazi is recovering from a lower body injury. U.S. men’s national team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter will also likely be out of the mix, given that he is heavily linked with an impending transfer to English Championship side Middlesbrough from Vancouver Whitecaps.

MLS revealed the four official changes less than a week before Wednesday’s scheduled clash against the Liga MX All-Stars in Charlotte. While Cuypers will miss the match due to transfer, Messi, De Paul and Mbokazi’s absences are due to World Cup fatigue and recovery.

Last season, Messi and teammate Jordi Alba officially pulled out of the 2025 MLS All-Star game on the day of the match, and MLS stepped in to suspend both of them for one match, as they did not have a documented injury. Messi missed the showpiece event in 2024 after sustaining an ankle injury in the Copa América final earlier in the month.

Messi and De Paul will not face any punishments for missing the All-Star game due to the quick turnaround from the World Cup. “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. Consistent with that agreement, Rodrigo De Paul and Lionel Messi will be excused from participating in the 2026 MLS All-Star Game,” MLS wrote in its announcement.

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Who Are the MLS All-Star Roster Replacements?

Paraguay and Vancouver midfielder Andrés Cubas led all players in defensive contributions at the 2026 World Cup. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Messi and De Paul unavailable, MLS has tipped fellow Inter Miami midfielder Yannick Bright as one of the four replacements, bringing in a central piece to the Herons’ roster and one of the top picks from the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. 

This season, Bright has two assists in 12 games and has stepped up to fill the midfield void left by Sergio Busquets’s retirement after the 2025 season. Before the 2026 campaign, he also earned himself a contract extension with the Herons through 2028 with an option for an additional season. 

Another Whitecaps midfielder, Andrés Cubas, is also now part of the squad, after starring in Paraguay’s run to the World Cup round of 16 against France, which included an upset of Germany in the round of 32. Cubas led all players in defensive contributions at the tournament, amassing 52 in Paraguay’s midfield, ahead of England’s Elliot Anderson (47) and Spain’s Rodri, who had 42 in the run to title victory and the Golden Ball.

Chicago also get a new face in the festivities, with forward Philip Zinckernagel named to the team in place of Cuypers with five goals and seven assists in 15 matches this season. Meanwhile, Houston Dynamo FC forward Guilherme comes into the mix as well, currently a favorite in the race for the 2026 MLS Newcomer of the Year Award. 

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Final 2026 MLS All-Star Game Roster

Goalkeepers

• Maxime Crépeau—Orlando City (Coach’s Selection)
• Matt Freese—New York City FC (Coach’s Selection)
• Brian Schwake—Nashville SC (Voted In)

Defenders

• Max Arfsten—Columbus Crew (Coach’s Selection)
• Lucas Herrington—Colorado Rapids (Coach’s Selection)
• Richie Laryea—Toronto FC (Commissioner’s Pick)
• Anthony Markanich—Minnesota United (Voted In)
• Steven Moreira—Columbus Crew (Coach’s Selection)
• Daniel Munie—San Jose Earthquakes (Coach’s Selection)
• Andy Najar—Nashville SC (Voted In)
• Jackson Ragen—Seattle Sounders (Coach’s Selection)
• Tim Ream—Charlotte FC (Voted In)

Midfielders

• Sebastian Berhalter—Vancouver Whitecaps (Coach’s Selection)
• Pep Biel—Charlotte FC (Coach’s Selection)
• Yannick Bright—Inter Miami CF (Coach’s Selection)
• Andrés Cubas—Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Coach’s Selection)
• Evander—FC Cincinnati (Coach’s Selection)
• Carles Gil—New England Revolution (Coach’s Selection)
• Zavier Gozo—Real Salt Lake (Coach’s Selection)
• Hany Mukhtar—Nashville SC (Coach’s Selection)
• Thomas Müller—Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Coach’s Selection)
• Ashley Westwood—Charlotte FC (Coach’s Selection)

Forwards

• Anders Dreyer—San Diego FC (Coach’s Selection)
• Guilherme—Houston Dynamo FC | (Coach’s Selection)
• Julian Hall—Red Bull New York (Commissioner’s Pick)
• Son Heung-Min—LAFC (Voted In)
• Petar Musa—FC Dallas (Coach’s Selection)
• Sam Surridge—Nashville SC (Coach’s Selection)
• Philip Zinckernagel—Chicago Fire (Coach’s Selection)

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