Lionel Messi misses another Inter Miami match with leg injury. His team rallies, ties NYCFC 1-1

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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi looks through the glass wall of a private box at the start of the team's U.S. Open Cup final soccer match against the Houston Dynamo, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Houston won 2-1. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ Hereā€™s how it goes for Inter Miami right now when it comes to the injured Lionel Messi: The team keeps saying he might play, and then he doesnā€™t play.

That pattern held true again Saturday, when the seven-time Ballon dā€™Or winner was scratched from the lineup for a matchup against New York City FC ā€” a game with significant Major League Soccer playoff implications for both clubs. Messi has a leg injury, the severity of which has not been revealed by Inter Miami.

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The team announced that Messi would not play about 45 minutes before Saturday's game time. Without Messi, Miami still had some magic ā€” TomĆ”s AvilĆ©s scored off a header in stoppage time to salvage what became a 1-1 tie. NYCFC had the lead on a goal by Santiago Rodriguez in the 77th minute.

The 36-year-old Messi has now missed four of Inter Miamiā€™s last five matches, plus another for Argentina in that span because of what was first called fatigue ā€” by both his club and country ā€” and has evolved from there. The only game he didnā€™t miss during that stretch was a 37-minute appearance against Toronto on Sept. 20, and he had to leave that match before halftime because of what is believed to be a hamstring issue.

ā€œHe's doing better and better,ā€ Inter Miami coach Gerardo ā€œTataā€ Martino said after Saturday's match.

Inter Miami still has playoff hope, but it took a hit Saturday and the team no longer is in control of its postseason destiny whether Messi returns or not. It is four points behind Montreal for the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference; Inter Miami has four matches left, Montreal has three. NYCFC moved up to No. 8 in the East with the tie, climbing one spot.

And Messiā€™s status the rest of the way remains a mystery, even as some fans pay hundreds of dollars ā€” or more ā€” to attend a match with hopes of seeing him play. Martino said the plan is for Messi to be on the training pitch in the coming days, with more evaluation coming Tuesday. The team next plays Wednesday at Chicago.

ā€œWe are not going to take any risks,ā€ Martino said.

Many fans on social media have responded to posts from the team with outrage over the lack of transparency about Messiā€™s status. A post previewing the NYCFC match, sent around midday Saturday, elicited comments like ā€œPost the squad and donā€™t fool your own fans. Have some shame.ā€ and ā€œCan yā€™all be clear about whatā€™s going on with Messiā€

Messiā€™s status is not the only talking point around the team in recent days. Inter Miami sent out season-ticket renewal notices this week, with big price increases in every section for next season. Season prices in the section where Inter Miamiā€™s most ardent supporters stand, chant and wave banners for the entirety of matches are set to rise 82% (from $485 to $884) in 2024, prices for some seats near midfield will be 98% higher (from $1,333 to $2,635) in some sections than the published price of what they were this year, and other fans were told to expect a more than 100% increase over what they have been paying. The published price for the most expensive season tickets next season tops $40,000, and that isn't even for the suites.

It surely was expected that prices would rise; Messiā€™s 2 1/2-year contract will pay him an average of more than $50 million annually, and that doesnā€™t even take into account what Inter Miami spent to land its other two major midseason acquisitions this year ā€” Jordi Alba (who is also sidelined by injury) and Sergio Busquets.

But itā€™s also clear that the team is already enjoying revenue streams like never before. MLS revealed Friday that Messiā€™s jersey ā€” in absolutely no surprise ā€” is the top-seller in the league this season. MLS, without releasing sale numbers, divulged the 25 most popular jerseys sold at mlsstore.com and Messiā€™s is No. 1, with Busquets at No. 13 and Inter Miamiā€™s Josef Martinez at No. 21.

That data represents all sales on the site since Jan. 1, and Messi and Busquets werenā€™t even with Inter Miami until July. It also does not include anything that the team has sold on its own.

Messi has 11 goals in 12 matches with Inter Miami this season. The team is 8-0-4 when he plays; seven of those matches were on the teamā€™s run to win its first-ever trophy by claiming the Leagues Cup championship ā€” the irony of that run being that it prompted concerns over how much Messi was being asked to play in a relatively short span after joining his new club. He has appeared in four MLS matches and one U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

The team is now 1-2-2 in its five matches without Messi since he joined the club. Since his signing, Inter Miami has outscored opponents 29-12 when Messi is on the field, 13-11 when he is not.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer


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