Lionel Messi finds himself at the center of a new lawsuit filed in Florida after no-showing for a pair of friendlies last year with the Argentina national football team.
VID, a company that promotes large-scale sporting and music events based in Miami, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Messi and the Argentine Football Association for fraud and breach of contract, TMZ reported.
The court filing claims that VID acquired exclusive rights to two friendly matches Argentina was scheduled to play in October against Venezuela and Puerto Rico, and that Messi was contractually obligated to play for at least 30 minutes in each match unless he was hurt, according to the report.
VID said it paid the Argentine Football Association $7 million as part of the deal.
However, Messi did not play in either match, opting to sit out for the Oct. 11 game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami — he did attend and watch the match from a suite — in order to be available for Inter Miami the following night in the MLS regular season finale.
The friendly against Puerto Rico had to be moved from Chicago’s Soldier Field to Inter Miami’s former home in Fort Lauderdale which, the lawsuit claims, resulted in a loss of more than a $1 million.
There are conflicting reports surrounding the decision to move the match, with it initially being reported that the game was moved due to social protests surrounding President Donald Trump’s attempt to send National Guard troops to Chicago.
Chicago Park District spokesman Luca Serra told the Associated Press that the change in venue was due to low ticket sales and made by the promoter.
The suit says that the Argentine Football Association told VID that it would make things right with a future game against China in 2026 that never came to fruition.
This is not the first time a lawsuit has been brought over Messi not playing in a match, as promised to fans.
Major League Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps settled a class action lawsuit last month after the two entities were sued after fans alleged they relied on “misleading promotional material” that Messi and a slew of other Inter Miami stars would be playing in a match on May 25, 2024.
