Messi Sued Over No-Show for Argentina Friendlies
Lionel Messi finds himself in the middle of a lawsuit in Florida after skipping last year’s friendly match with Argentina’s national team.
VID, a Miami-based company that organizes major sports and music events, filed the lawsuit against Messi and the Argentine Football Association, claiming fraud and breach of contract. This was reported by TMZ on Tuesday.
In the court documents, VID alleges it secured exclusive rights to two friendly matches for Argentina against Venezuela and Puerto Rico set for October. They assert that Messi was supposed to play at least 30 minutes in each game unless he was injured.
VID stated that it paid $7 million to the Argentine Football Association as part of their arrangement.
However, Messi opted not to participate in either match. Instead, he chose to play in the final regular season game for Inter Miami the night after the October 11 match held at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The friendly against Puerto Rico had to be moved from Chicago’s Soldier Field to Inter Miami’s previous location in Fort Lauderdale, resulting in financial losses exceeding $1 million, as claimed in the lawsuit.
Conflicting reports emerged about the rescheduling. Some indicated it was due to social protests related to President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, while Luca Serra, a spokesperson for the Chicago Park District, mentioned it was due to poor ticket sales and was a promoter’s decision.
The complaint also states that the Argentine Football Association promised VID a future match against China in 2026 to remedy the situation, but that promise was never fulfilled.
This isn’t the first instance of a lawsuit linked to Messi’s absence from major matches. Recently, Major League Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit after fans claimed the organizations used “misleading promotional materials” suggesting Messi and other stars from Inter Miami would be playing in a match on May 25, 2024.
