Messi is refusing to play in Inter Miami's upcoming match for a strange reason

Argentine legend Lionel Messi reportedly does not want to play in Inter Miami's upcoming match. 

In the summer of 2023, Messi turned his back on European football after a sensational career at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. 

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner moved to MLS to Inter Miami, who are owned by former famous footballer David Beckham. 

Since moving to Miami, Messi has been joined by several of his former teammates such as Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.  

Read too Lionel Messi has not only won against 11 teams in his career

Inter Miami is expected to meet Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday night in the CONCACAF Cup. 

The match is expected to be played as scheduled despite suggestions that temperatures will be very low, somewhere around -15 degrees Celsius. 

🚨 Sources have told me that Lionel Messi does not want to play in the blistering cold on Tuesday vs Sporting Kansas City.

Whether he does or not is still to be determined, but there is a chance Messi does not play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup opener.#InterMiamiCF #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/Krr2tn5SzW

— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) February 17, 2025

Before the match, it was announced that Messi was not that eager to play in that challenge. 

"Sources have informed me that Lionel Messi does not want to play in that freezing cold on Tuesday against Sporting Kansas City." 

"Whether he will play or not has not been decided yet, but there is a chance that Messi will not appear in this match," said journalist Franco Panizo./Telegraph/