"Quickly becoming a villain in the eyes of neutral MLS fans" - Journalist slams Lionel Messi for missing 2025 All-Star game

Journalist Favian Renkel has hit out at Lionel Messi for missing the 2025 All-Star game. The Argentine maestro and Jordi Alba have been voted into this year's MLS All-Star team roster.

However, both players are set to miss the highly anticipated clash against the Liga MX All-Star team, as confirmed by MLS officials. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is coming off a hectic schedule with the Herons, including a FIFA Club World Cup run, which could be the reason behind his decision.

Sharing his opinion on X, however, Renkel insisted that the snub could hurt La Pulga's popularity in the US.

"Lionel Messi is quickly becoming a villain in the eyes of neutral MLS fans. The league’s MVP isn’t doing himself any favors when it comes to winning over supporters outside of Miami," wrote Renkel.

Renkel went on to add that the Argentine's presence would have elevated the status of the All-Star Game.

"The MLS All Star Game is one of the few things that sets the league apart from the rest of the global soccer landscape. If you think Lionel Messi playing in it wouldn’t help grow MLS, you’re mistaken. Just a few clips of him in action could generate massive interest from fans around the world, especially those unfamiliar with what an All-Star Game even is," wrote Renkel.

La Pulga has registered 24 goals and eight assists from 29 games this season for Inter Miami.

Will Lionel Messi face a one-game suspension for missing the MLS All-Star Game?

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has played down talk of a potential suspension for Messi following his absence from the MLS All-Star Game. MLS rules have a provision for a one-game suspension for any player who opts not to participate in the game without valid medical reasons.

Speaking to the press, Garber insisted that the league are yet to make a decision on the matter.

"We don't need to pronounce now. We're managing through that process as we speak. Miami had a schedule that is unlike any other team. Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn't. We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games. That's nine games in 35 days," Garber

He continued:

"We would have loved to have Leo here, we'd love to have every player that was selected for the All-Star team here."

Lionel Messi also missed last year's MLS All-Star Game due to injury.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit