Will Lionel Messi Be Suspended Again for Missing the MLS All-Star Game?

Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul pulled out of the 2026 MLS All-Star game, while nine other World Cup players are set to attend.

Lionel Messi isn’t going to the MLS All-Star game once again. | Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Lionel Messi won’t be at the MLS All-Star game in Charlotte this week, dipping out of the event for the third year in a row, despite being named to the roster in each of 2024, 2025 and 2026. 

Messi, as well as his Argentina and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, were two among the four changes announced to the All-Star roster on Saturday. A fifth change is also anticipated, as U.S. men’s national team World Cup star Sebastian Berhalter is expected to make a move to EFL Championship side Middlesbrough from Vancouver Whitecaps this summer. 

Nevertheless, the Argentinian soccer legend, who recently captured the Silver Boot and Silver Ball with eight goals at the 2026 World Cup, doesn’t risk being suspended by MLS this time around, as he was for his absence in 2025.

Due to the regulations of the global players’ union, FIFAPro, which allow players to take 21 days of rest between the end of their World Cup campaign and the return to club soccer—as well as an separate agreement between MLS and the MLS Players’ Association, Messi and De Paul received the option to sit out of the league’s showcase match without risk of penalty.

“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,” the league wrote in a statement Saturday.

Even without the Argentine duo, the MLS All-Star roster is expected to feature nine players who played in this summer’s World Cup; however, unlike Messi and De Paul, none of them had games within the past 21 days.

The MLS All-Star squad will take on the Liga MX All-Stars on Wednesday night, with a Skills Challenge between select players on Tuesday. Neither Messi nor De Paul were selected for the technical competition.

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Why Was Messi Suspended Last Year?

Lionel Messi was suspended for missing last year’s match without an injury. | Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

Messi was the central focus of last year’s MLS All-Star game in Austin after he and now-retired teammate Jordi Alba officially pulled out of the festivities just hours before kickoff, despite being scheduled to play in the match and compete in the Skills Challenge. 

The two were subsequently suspended for Miami’s first match back from the All-Star game, following the MLS rule that states that any player who skips the All-Star game without an injury is subject to a one-game suspension. In the wake of the league’s decision, Inter Miami’s managing owner Jorge Mas described the rule as “draconian.”

At that point, Inter Miami had just come off a run to the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup, where Messi and Alba played key roles in showcasing the league on a global stage, earning a Concacaf team’s first competitive win against a UEFA side with a group stage victory over FC Porto. 

Then managed by Javier Mascherano, the Argentinian player-turned-manager admitted he wanted the players to focus too much on MLS play. It eventually paid off, with Inter Miami capturing its first MLS Cup. Messi went on to win the Golden Boot and a second-straight MLS MVP award.

While not suspended, both Messi and De Paul are expected to miss several matches after the All-Star game as they regroup following the World Cup final loss. The duo is not expected to rejoin Miami until August. 

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