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<p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><p style="display: none;">Article continues below</p><ul><li>All-time great left out of meeting with Montreal</li><li>Martino's side suffered narrow defeat</li><li>South American is huge draw in away fixtures</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Is away game ‘business’ behind Lionel Messi benching? Questions asked of Inter Miami selection call as Herons choose to leave Argentine out of MLS home date

Major League Soccer

Vancouver Whitecaps

Inter Miami CF

<p>The Argentine superstar is, at 36 years of age, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/will-lionel-messi-be-rested-inter-miami-tata-martino-reveals-when-rotation-ageing-former-barcelona-stars-start/blt4c2eeaf17e9c62f9" target="_blank">going to sit out the odd game in 2024</a>. He cannot be expected to play every minute across four competitions. He suffered an injury in pre-season and has <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/was-lionel-messi-injured-or-rested-inter-miami-boss-tata-martino-explains-absence-mls-defeat-montreal/bltbb65f72eeed3bcfa" target="_blank">already been rested by Tata Martino</a> as Inter Miami seek to manage a gruelling schedule.</p><div class="affiliate-button-container theme-1" data-name="Apple TV"><div class="affiliate-button"><img class="logo" height="40" width="72" src="https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/bltcc7a7ffd2fbf71f5/blt2de198b67da95a2e/65709d2436cf7d0407034ef9/Apple_TV.png" style="width: 72px; height: 40px;"><span class="affiliate-text">Get the MLS Season Pass today!</span></div><a href="https://tv.apple.com/channel/tvs.sbd.7000?itsct=goal_mls&amp;itscg=30200&amp;at=1010l39UY" class="affiliate-button-link" target="_blank">Stream games now</a></div>

WHAT HAPPENED?

<p>The Herons insist that sporting factors are driving their selection calls, but there is no escaping the fact that <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/lionel-messi-inter-miami-mls-super-bowl-taylor-swift-nfl/blt39d85cdceedca32c" target="_blank">Messi is the biggest draw in MLS</a> and the greatest driver of revenue on and off the field. With that in mind, it has been suggested that he was left out of a match at Chase Stadium in order to <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/like-seeing-michael-jordan-greatest-why-tickets-lionel-messi-show-inter-miami-remain-expensive/blt630bce8421fa19c0" target="_blank">ensure that he is ready for games on the road</a>.</p>

THE BIGGER PICTURE

<p>Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas has told his <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/reacting-to-uswnt-winning-first-w-gold-cup-with-jen/id884363122?i=1000648854997 " target="_blank"><em>State of the Union</em></a> podcast: “He is going to – Messi, and Luis Suarez for that matter – be used sporadically. This gets into a bigger conversation about what should be the priority when it comes to any MLS player, but in particular here with what Inter Miami is looking at. They both played in the CONCACAF Champions Cup midweek game, they did not play at the weekend in an actual MLS game. I guess this a subjective view, Messi was hired to play in Major League Soccer and to play in Major League Soccer games. He’s not playing in this game. He’s also not playing at home, in front of fans that have come out – whether it is celebrities or anybody else – to actually see this team, maybe for the only time, specifically because of Messi playing on the field. And he doesn’t play. That’s not a judgement – Tata Martino and that organisation have to do what they feel is best for the long-term success and survival of this team. Obviously it didn’t work from a result standpoint and maybe no league in the world is more forgiving of losing a game like this than Major League Soccer – without relegation and with the amount of teams that ultimate make the playoffs, so that’s the bar that they have to reach.</p><p>“But it is still a little bit weird in terms of the prioritisation of CONCACAF Champions Cup. Although international exposure and international success for the Inter Miami brand – and I guess the MLS brand – can certainly be important. They also chose a home game to sit him out, and we know that when it comes to away games this makes it more possible that Messi could play in an away game, and many times we are looking at away games that are being moved to bigger stadiums and therefore from a revenue standpoint and a business standpoint and an exposure standpoint, MLS as a whole might get the benefit of the decision from Tata Martino. But, ultimately, this is a team that without Messi, lost.”</p>

WHAT LALAS SAID ABOUT MESSI

<p>Messi continues to attract A-list guests and <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/lionel-messi-tickets-more-in-demand-any-nfl-team-prices-soar-over-3000-mls-inter-miami-debut-new-york/blt143c1331e86cd279" target="_blank">sell-out crowds to every fixture he graces</a>, with the expectation being that he will be back in Inter Miami’s starting XI for the second leg of a Champions Cup last-16 encounter with Nashville on Wednesday that is currently locked at 2-2 on aggregate.</p>

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

Is away game ‘business’ behind Lionel Messi benching? Questions asked of Inter Miami selection call as Herons choose to leave Argentine out of MLS home date | Goal.com

Inter Miami benched Lionel Messi for a home MLS clash with Montreal, with questions asked of whether there were “business” reasons for that decision.

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