Messi won't play at Houston Dynamo in latest blow for MLS away fans

One of the biggest questions -- if not the biggest -- about new Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano is how he will manage Lionel Messi's workload.

Messi, like most elite players, will always volunteer to play if he's healthy. And Mascherano has far more experience as one of Messi's former international teammates than he does as a club first-team coach. That may have felt like a potential arrangement that could lead to overruse of the 37-year-old Argentine superstar. But maybe the opposite is ture.

Earlier Saturday the Miami Herald reported that Messi would not be traveling for the Herons' Matchday 2 meeting at the Houston Dynamo, which was later confirmed by ESPN and others.

With Miami balancing Concacaf Champions Cup commitments alongside the early regular season, this will already be the Herons' fourth game of the campaign, with the fifth scheduled at home on Thursday in Leg 1 of their CCC round-of-16 series against Jamaica's Cavalier FC. And it's certainly within Mascherano's right to treat his most important player -- and also his second-oldest -- with kid gloves, especially after a 2024 campaign when Messi missed 15 league matches.

Messi, MLS and Apple TV are partners

But it's also worth noting Messi's unique business arrangement, one which includes a share of the revenue generated by MLS Season Pass, Apple TV's MLS streaming subscription service. That agreement not only suggests that there should be at least some preference given to play in matches appearing on the service when it's reasonable to do so, but also implies Messi should be an embassador for the league. If anything, that would place a heightened importance on appearing before away fans who might only get to see him once.

Instead, this will be the 12th away MLS regular season match Messi has missed, against only 12 he has played in. This particular one is also the second game in MLS' new Sunday Night Soccer package on Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass. And it's also a date on the fixture that it feels like Miami should have been able to work around.

For starters, while it's true Miami continue their continental campaign in midweek, they'll be playing defending Jamaican Premier League champions Cavalier FC. Yes, Caribbean teams need to be taken seriously. We all remember Violette's shock upset of Austin two years ago.

But the gap in talent level between the two sides is obvious. It's hard to imagine Mascherano couldn't coach his group past these opponents while at least limiting some fo the work load on the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and a few of his veteran teammates.

Less riding on CCC in 2025

And if we're being honest, there's a lot less riding on the 2025 CCC for Miami than there was in 2024, when the Herons believed winning it was the only way to reach this summer's 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Instead, FIFA gave Miami the "host nation" berth based on the Herons winning the 2024 Supporters' Shield.

The prize for winning the 2025 CWC is a berth in the 2029 CWC, which will be held elsewhere and will likely come a couple years after Messi retires. It's still an incentive, but it's not an equal incentive.

Additionally, this will likely be the only time Messi has a chance to play in Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city and one with an enormous Spanish-speaking population. Last year Messi missed Miami's trip to Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, though there will be another visit in 2025.

Some of the blame is on MLS. The league gave Miami a road-heavy schedule during the 2024 Copa America, when it was very likely Messi would be playing for Argentina at the Copa America. And it has sold Messi as part player, part ambassador -- a tactic that ignores Messi's obvious preference for introversion.

But this match in particular feels like it was an avoidable absence, and reflects poorly on Mascherano, Messi and Miami's understanding of their duty within the league. And it leaves yet another group of away fans who might be going to their first MLS game on Sunday feeling duped, and probably less likely than they ever were before to go to a second.