Inter Miami will take on the world, no questions asked, as long as they have Lionel Messi leading them out. But calamity struck on August 2nd. The fear they have been dreading has finally shown up. The Argentina icon lasted just 11 minutes on the pitch, as a right leg injury has put him on the treatment table.

So much talk had been made about Messi’s fitness and work overload; it’s almost like the injury setback was right around the corner. The extent of the injury is still not clear, though. And according to an ESPN host, the MLS will try to plan it out to its advantage, because it’s Messi. So, what is the point being made here?

Well, ESPN reporters Alejandro Moreno and Herculez Gomez were analyzing the update released by Inter Miami on Lionel Messi’s injury. In the clip uploaded on ESPN’s YouTube channel on August 5, Moreno made it clear that it was no minor injury. Because minor muscle discomfort doesn’t keep Messi on the ground flat. The former Venezuelan player gave an absence timeline of at least 2 weeks.

Moreno and Gomez speculated that MLS might withhold the full details of Messi’s injury timeline to avoid negatively affecting revenue and viewership, particularly given Messi’s massive impact on attendance and sponsorship deals; however, it remains unclear whether MLS will be forced to reveal the full timeline due to these sales pressures.

And adding to Moreno’s claims, co-host Gomez went on, “We have seen it from Inter Miami. We have seen it from the league … They’re going to milk this that Messi is day-to-day.” The former USMNT forward continued that the MLS will reveal the bare minimum without actually letting slip the actual timeline of Messi’s absence. Why? Because Lionel Messi is the money game for the MLS.

As long as people don’t know the extent of his unavailability, the league will still be able to rake in the numbers. “Because if you were today saying, ‘Hey, Messi’s out for the next month.’ Do you know what the viewership in Leagues Cup would be? Well, they’re going to take a break.” And he continued, “Do you know what the gate would be at some of these away games versus Inter Miami? It would plummet. It would go down.”

They are not wrong. Messi has been driving the numbers, be it sponsorship, revenue, TV Ratings, ticket sales, or stadium sellouts. Messi’s 2023 Inter Miami jersey is the most sold in MLS history. The away games of Inter Miami get an all-time high attendance because of his name on the Inter Miami teamsheet. Case in point—New York Revolutions and Chicago Fire.

The MLS’s sponsorship revenue jumped 18% since his time in the US. That’s higher than what MLB brought in that period (16%). A game that was trotting behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, and even NHL has icons like Lebron James coming to get a glimpse of the Argentine genius. Herculez Gomez noted that for Lionel Messi, the MLS will make this exception. They will keep it pretty close to their chest and just wait till the Inter Miami forward returns.

They have done it before, as host Alejandro Moreno said initially. Messi has had his share of injury issues since he arrived in the MLS.

Lionel Messi’s fitness issues have been haunting MLS for long

The 8-time Ballon d’Or winner is 38 years old. Class is permanent, we know. But fitness and your body stop being your friend as years add on. Messi has been the spearhead for his team, helping Miami win its first-ever Supporters’ Shield Trophy. What makes it impressive is his contribution despite missing almost half of the season in 2024 due to injury.

In the ESPN show itself, they tabulated the number of matches that Messi has missed so far. 28 games the 2022 World Cup winner has missed since he joined the MLS in July 2023. The injuries have ranged from hamstring, muscle, and adductor tears to the major ankle injury he suffered while playing in the 2024 Copa America.

This injury that Lionel Messi is dealing with currently has a prolonged saga, which involved Messi himself and the Inter Miami camp expressing concerns about the workload stress on the veteran’s body. “I’d love for them to rest,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano had said before Messi decided not to participate in the MLS All-Stars game. The coach also confirmed after the All-Stars game that his Argentine compatriot had been reeling under fatigue and discomfort after being heavily involved in the 2025 season.

Messi has played 31 of the 36 games for Inter Miami this season. And crucially, he has been playing the entire 90 minutes on most occasions. It’s bound to take a toll, and it finally gave way in the Necaxa game in the Leagues Cup. Now, we wait for his healthy return to the game.