Don Garber on Lionel Messi's MLS All-Star Game absence: 'We should have known earlier'
MLS released an updated All-Star roster about eight hours before the game, which didn't list both Inter Miami players, who stayed in South Florida instead of traveling for the exhibition.
It's unclear when Inter Miami communicated Messi and Alba wouldn't travel for the match, leaving much of the conversation on the day of the exhibition around whether MLS would suspend its biggest star despite his massive workload during the 2025 season.
Inter Miami has not responded to multiple requests from USA TODAY Sports this week seeking comment on Messi's All-Star absence.
'Yeah, we should have known earlier. We should have addressed it earlier. No doubt about that,' Garber said during his midseason press conference before the All-Star Game at Q2 Stadium when asked by USA TODAY Sports why an announcement of Messi's absence didn't come earlier in MLS All-Star week.
Garber believes the MLS All-Star Game is a 'real priority' for players, fans and team owners and executives, who all convened in Austin to discuss several issues like altering the MLS calendar, improving rosters and the MLS/Apple TV partnership before the match.
Garber also said he was told Messi and Alba did not practice as Inter Miami held a training session on Wednesday ahead of their next match against first-place FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26.
An announcement on a possible suspension for Messi and Alba could come as early as Thursday, July 24.
'Miami has had a schedule that is unlike any other team. Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn't. We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games that he's played. We have to manage through that as a league. [At] the same time, we do have rules, and we have to manage through that as well,' Garber said.
'So, we would have loved to have Leo here. We'd have loved to have every player that was selected for the All-Star team here. And after this All-Star Game, we'll figure out what needs to happen this weekend.'
Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion, has played every minute for Inter Miami during a nine-game stretch lasting 35 days, from the FIFA Club World Cup opener on June 14 to the club's last match on July 19.
Overall, Messi has played more than 2,000 minutes in 22 of 23 matches since April 2 with his only game off on April 30.
Inter Miami has also played more games than any club in MLS with 34 matches across all competitions in 2025, excluding five preseason matches played in Las Vegas, Peru, Panama, Honduras and Tampa, Florida.
They have played 21 matches during the MLS regular season, while other clubs have played 23 or 24 matches. They've also played seven matches in the Concacaf Champions Cup and four matches in the Club World Cup.
'I was told this morning that neither Jordi or Messi practiced today. Jordi came off with an injury in the last game, and we'll have to manage through what Miami is going to say about that,' Garber added.
Messi, 38, was the oldest player named an MLS All-Star in 2025. He joined Inter Miami in June 2023, and won MLS MVP in 2024 despite missing the 2024 All-Star Game and two months due to his Copa America ankle injury.
Inter Miami is in ongoing negotiations to re-sign Messi, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the 2025 season.
Along with addressing the impact bought to MLS by David Beckham, the former L.A. Galaxy star and Inter Miami co-owner, Garber said 'MLS wouldn't be today what it is today with Leo Messi, either.'
'I don't think any of us realized what impact this player would have on our league, on our global exposure, on our credibility, on creating the thrills and just unique experiences that he's done over just the last couple of weeks, scoring multiple goals in multiple games, playing 90 minutes over the last four or five games, not wanting to come out of the game,' Garber said of Messi.
'He's an incredible competitor, and he's performing at a really high level. So, we are perceived very differently globally, because Leo Messi is in our league.'
USA TODAY Sports' 48-page special edition commemorates 30 years of Major League Soccer, from its best players to key milestones and championship dynasties to what exciting steps are next with the World Cup ahead. Order your copy today!
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