Lionel Messi is being sued in Florida after sitting out two Argentina friendlies last October, and the company behind the matches says it lost serious money because of it.
Miami-based event promoter VID filed the lawsuit Tuesday against both Messi and the Argentine Football Association, alleging fraud and breach of contract. According to the filing, VID paid the AFA $7 million for exclusive rights to two Argentina friendlies — against Venezuela on October 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and against Puerto Rico shortly after. The contract reportedly required Messi to play at least 30 minutes in each match, injury aside.
He played zero minutes in either.
What actually happened
Messi was at the Venezuela game. He watched it from a suite. He chose to sit out to stay fresh for Inter Miami's MLS regular season finale the following night — a choice that might make sense from a club perspective, but doesn't hold up when a promoter has paid $7 million banking on him being on the pitch.
The Puerto Rico match got messier. It was relocated from Soldier Field in Chicago to Inter Miami's former Fort Lauderdale ground. VID claims the venue change cost over $1 million on its own. There are conflicting explanations for the move — early reports cited political protests around Trump's push to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, but Chicago Park District spokesman Luca Serra told the AP it came down to low ticket sales, a decision made by the promoter themselves.
VID also claims the AFA promised a future Argentina-China match in 2026 as compensation. That game never happened.
A pattern that's getting harder to ignore
This is not a one-off. Just last month, MLS and the Vancouver Whitecaps settled a class action lawsuit after fans alleged they bought tickets based on promotional material implying Messi and other Inter Miami stars would play in a May 2024 match. They didn't.
Two lawsuits in two months, both centred on the same issue: Messi's presence being sold as a guarantee, then not delivered. For anyone pricing Inter Miami futures or Argentina match markets, the contractual fine print around Messi's availability is clearly not the formality it once seemed.
The AFA received $7 million and allegedly offered a replacement game that never materialised. That's the part that may prove hardest to defend in court.
