“You will never play for the national team” - Ex-MLS star accuses Lionel Messi of threatening Pedro de la Vega during Leagues Cup final

Former MLS player Alan Gordon has accused Lionel Messi of blackballing Pedro de la Vega from the Argentina national team during the Leagues Cup final between Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

The Herons were at the end of a crushing 3-0 defeat to their Western Conference rivals, with tensions spilling over after the final whistle. A heated moment ensued at full time as players and staff from both sides confronted each other. De la Vega, who was named MVP of the tournament, was seen in a tense exchange not only with Lionel Messi but also with Rodrigo de Paul, one of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s closest allies in the Argentina squad.

While Pedro de la Vega is yet to make his first appearance in the Argentina senior team, Alan Gordon claimed Lionel Messi threatened to blacklist the 24-year-old from the national team. The MLS veteran told the Major League Journeymen podcast:

“Messi told him - remember when they got into a little scuffle during the game. Messi told him to his face ‘You will never play for the national team as long as I am involved’. He basically blackballed him on the field. This happened. That is disgusting to me.”

Argentina will play their last two matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador. And of course, Lionel Messi was called up by head coach Lionel Scaloni in what could be his last World Cup qualifiers appearances for La Albiceleste.

“They are world champions and my idols” – Pedro de la Vega downplays confrontation with Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul

While Lionel Messi has been accused of threatening to ostracize Pedro de la Vega from the national team squad, the latter opened up about his confrontation with Messi after the match. De la Vega said, as quoted by Bolavip:

“Messi and De Paul? They are the greatest. They are world champions and they are my idols. The clash was just part of the game. I tried to stay focused and not take it personally. Facing them as an Argentine carries a different kind of pressure.”

The Seattle Sounders winger played down the incident in another interview with the MLS website, saying:

“The clash was just part of the game. I tried to stay focused and not take it personally. Facing them as an Argentine carries a different kind of pressure.”

On why his side were able to defeat Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami, he said:

“We prepared well, we were able to push ourselves to play our game. Of course, facing Miami and the quality of their players made it difficult, but we found the goals,”

Inter Miami will next be in action on September 13, when they face Charlotte in the MLS.