Inter Miami star Lionel Messi will not be with the team for their road game against Atlanta United on Saturday, according to multiple reports. ESPN first reported The news. Here’s what you need to know:
- The 36-year-old played 88 minutes in Argentina’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador last Sept. 7. Although he traveled with the national team for its next match against Bolivia on Tuesday, he was not named in the list for high altitude. contest.
- Miami coach Tata Martino said Messi was “fine” on Friday, but he would not make a decision about Messi’s availability until after training ahead of the game in Atlanta. “We will be careful with him because we have a lot of important games in a short time,” Martino said.
- A league official said MLS was “aware” of Messi’s absence on Saturday. Inter Miami sits six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining in the regular season.
Backstory
Martino said last month that the team will be without Messi for “at least” three games this season while he plays for the national team. He missed Miami last week’s 3-2 win over Sporting KC.
The Atlanta matchup is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 72,000 fans.
Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of six Major League Soccer venues with artificial turf, adding to the intrigue surrounding Messi’s status. Many older stars who have come to MLS from Europe have over the years avoided playing matches on the league’s artificial surfaces.
In August, Messi said playing on turf in his new league was not an issue.
“The truth is my youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on the pitch,” Messi said. “The truth is that I haven’t played on artificial ground for a long time, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”
Martino – who coached Atlanta between 2016 and 2018 – said this week that he has no worries about his team playing at the top. “My experience on Atlanta’s turf has always been positive,” he said The Athletic on Tuesday.
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(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)