Lionel Messi will not play for Inter Miami in Sunday’s match against the Houston Dynamo. He did not travel with his Inter Miami teammates to Houston, a team club spokesman said Saturday.
The reason: Messi needs to rest — a decision made by Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano.
Along with ticket-paying fans, Messi’s presence will be missed by MLS and Apple as the match is the featured game in the second edition of ‘Sunday Night Soccer” — a primetime showcase created by Major League Soccer and Apple TV this season. The match is available to watch Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+.
Messi is not injured, Inter Miami says. He is expected to play again Thursday when it hosts Jamaican league champions Cavalier FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 matchup.
However, Inter Miami will play its first eight games of the season in a span of 28 days. The club’s upcoming schedule consists of five matches in 15 days, with three of them coming on the road.
Messi started the first three matches of the year, and has scored two goals with two assists.
Messi helped Inter Miami beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Feb. 19, playing the distance in subfreezing temperatures in Kansas City, Kansas to start the year.
Messi had two assists and played the entire match in Inter Miami’s 2-2 draw to open the MLS season Saturday against New York City FC. He was also fined by the league’s disciplinary committee for inappropriately squeezing the back of an opposing coach’s neck as the match concluded.
Messi scored a goal and played just 68 minutes as Inter Miami beat Sporting KC again 3-1 last Tuesday, to advance 4-1 on aggregate score to the Round of 16 in the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.
The Houston match is the fourth in a 12-day stretch for Inter Miami. Houston (0-0-1) and Inter Miami (0-1-0) each are looking for their first MLS win of the season Sunday.
Messi has played in Houston at least four times during his career, most recently with Argentina during the Copa America last summer.