Lionel Messi won’t play every game for Inter Miami. Just ask Houston Dynamo, Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps FC fans.
While the 37-year-old can still impress, his body isn’t the same as it once was. Even at his peak with FC Barcelona, he didn’t have to travel the thousands of miles MLS teams do in a regular season.
Messi did not travel or play to face the Houston Dynamo on Sunday.
Head coach Javier Mascherano explained it wasn’t because of injury, but rather load-management in a packed schedule of MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup, and eventually FIFA Club World Cup duties.
It’s far from the first time it’s happened, frustrated fans across North America.
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In 2023, the Chicago Fire simply offered ticket rebates for future games when he didn’t show up for the over 61,000 fans. The club offered $250 off season tickets the following year, or a $50 voucher., but many still weren’t pleased, even as Chicago won 4–1.
It leaves a looming question though: How do other clubs deal with it, especially after promoting his visit?
Vancouver Whitecaps absence prompted lawsuits
In 2024, the Whitecaps sold ticket packages that included some of the most highly touted games on the schedule. Alongside the Inter Miami match, were elite teams such as LAFC and LA Galaxy––they sold out on those, and brought in record attendance numbers for some of those games.
At the same time, they saw a bump in season ticket purchases up to 16,000, which went down to 12,000 in 2025 with no Miami scheduled. Still, that's a bump from the 9,000 sold in 2023.
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Yet, when Miami announced Messi, alongside Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez weren’t coming, fans were irate. Some brought forward lawsuits against the Whitecaps, saying they falsely advertised, while others simply asked for refunds.
Canadian resident Ho Chun filed a claim in civil court for $404 for a pair of tickets he bought at inflated prices.
“This is a classic case of bait-and-switch," the lawsuit said, citing ample advertising promising the trio.
"Using such promotional materials as 'bait,' the defendants caused the tickets for the Vancouver v. Miami game to be listed and sold on the primary market at 10 times higher than the price of other Vancouver Whitecaps home games.”
The ‘Caps did not have to settle and did not give refunds, with sporting director Axel Schuster saying, “We always want our best players going up against our opponent's best players, and facing players of the highest pedigree was especially exciting for our team. We know that there will also be a lot of disappointed fans.”
They did, however, offer tickets to an additional match for those who had bought tickets to the Miami game. A few kilometers away Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC, jumped in, offering fans free admission with their Miami vs. Whitecaps ticket.
It wasn’t a pretty situation, and Vancouver didn’t make it count on the pitch either, losing to Miami 2–1.
Houston Dynamo offering complimentary tickets
Less than a year later, the situation has come to Houston––fans are equally frustrated.
“The recently shared player status report for the match did not include forward Lionel Messi, but it has been reported he did not make the trip to Houston,” Houston Dynamo stated ahead of the match. “Unfortunately, we have no control over who plays for our opponent.”
The club announced it would give complimentary tickets to those looking to go to another Dynamo match. However, that still left fans frustrated, with many casual supporters only interested in seeing Messi––less so the Dynamo.
As of Friday, the cheapest tickets were still listed at roughly around $200, far higher than a typical Dynamo game. In the hours ahead of the match though, some had dropped to as low as $20 on resale marketplaces.
— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 2, 2025
While the Dynamo become the latest team to deal with it and are getting stars in Suarez, Busquets and Jordi Alba, unlike Vancouver, it’s a worrying trend for MLS clubs expecting a star-studded Miami to visit this season.
Among other lengthy trips Miami has on its schedule are Minnesota United, Columbus, San Jose and a return to Chicago––where he did play in 2024 after the 2023 debacle. All they can do is hope now, and learn from the lessons of the past few years.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lionel Messi Missing Inter Miami Matches: Fuming Fans, Lawsuits and How Clubs Deal With It.