'God of Football' Messi Faces Lawsuit for No-Show Controversy... Accused of Fraud and Breach of Contract

US Event Company Files Lawsuit
Messi Watches Friendly Match from Stands, Fails to Play

'God of Football' Lionel Messi (38, Inter Miami) is being sued by a US-based event company. The lawsuit alleges that he failed to honor a contract related to a national team friendly match held in the US and caused massive financial losses by not participating in the match.

According to the Associated Press on April 16 (Korean time), the Miami, Florida-based event promoter 'BID Music Group' filed a lawsuit last month in a local court against Messi and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for fraud and breach of contract.

Lionel Messi. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

According to the complaint, BID signed a contract worth 7 million dollars (approximately 10.3 billion won) with the AFA in the summer of last year. In exchange for securing exclusive rights to organize and promote friendly matches between the national teams of Argentina, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico held in the US that October, BID was entitled to the ticket, broadcast, and sponsorship revenues. BID claims that Messi was contractually obligated to play at least 30 minutes in each match unless he was injured.

However, on October 10 last year, Messi did not play in the match against Venezuela (which Argentina won 1-0) and instead watched from a skybox with his family and acquaintances.

The next day, Messi played a full match for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS) game against Atlanta United, scoring two goals and leading his team to a 4-0 victory. Three days later, on the 14th, Messi also played in the friendly match between Argentina and Puerto Rico (which Argentina won 6-0).

Originally, this match was scheduled to take place in Chicago, but due to sluggish ticket sales and immigration enforcement issues, the venue was changed to Florida. The AFA lowered ticket prices to 25 dollars, and the stadium used was smaller than originally planned, but even then, the seats were not filled. While BID did not specify the exact amount of damages, it claimed to have suffered millions of dollars in losses due to Messi's absence and poor ticket sales.

In the past, Cristiano Ronaldo also faced a similar lawsuit. In 2019, while playing for Juventus in Italy, he remained on the bench during a friendly match in Korea, sparking outrage among tens of thousands of fans. This led to a series of lawsuits against the event organizer for damages and penalty claims.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.