Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba will not play in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, MLS announced Wednesday. They were the vote leaders at their positions.

Lionel Messi has been the most visible superstar in Major League Soccer since joining American club Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, and as such his surprise absence from the 2025 MLS All-Star game came as a shock.

Messi and Alba were Inter Miami’s All-Star selections, but per MLS, they will not take part in the game set to be played on Wednesday in Austin, Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas — Lionel Messi will miss the Major League Soccer All-Star Game against Liga MX on Wednesday night. An MLS spokesperson said Inter Miami informed league officials that the two players will not appear in the match at Q2 Stadium.

In a few days, the annual MLS All-Star Game will take place at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. Star players from across the MLS will take on Liga MX. Inter Miami's Lionel Messi is supposed to be one of them.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami team-mate Jordi Alba could face a suspension after withdrawing from Major League Soccer's All-Star game, multiple US media reports said on Wednesday.However US media reported on Wednesday both Messi and Alba had pulled out of the squad.

The soccer star's Stanley 1913 collection includes tumblers and water bottles in an electric blue and gold colorway inspired by the Argentine flag