Lionel Messi is Major League Soccer’s biggest star, there are billboards, ads, and kits that prove that. There is also him showing up week in and week out to play soccer for Inter Miami. What there isn’t is Messi talking to anyone.
To put it into perspective, Lionel Messi has spoken to more Argentine podcasters than he has the local soccer media in the United States, except for one occasion, when he did a press conference and one on one 5-minute interviews before Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup final.
In Messi’s defense, doing interviews has never been a major part of his game, Messi tends to avoid the media, but given that his team hasn’t won a match since September of 2023, Messi has been too silent for Michelle Kaufman, an Inter Miami beat reporter for the Miami Herald.
Michelle Kaufman on Messi’s media absence
On the Inter Miami podcast, Inside Inter Miami, Michelle Kaufman pointed out that not being able to talk to Messi goes against MLS media rules and that Inter Miami needs to bring the superstar closer to the team, fans, and narrative.
“The local media, we have requested to have some time with [Messi], to have a press conference, to have something… Because clearly, he is one of the two biggest players in the world. He’s playing on this team. I cover this team on a day-to-day basis, and I don’t get to talk to the biggest star on the team. This does not happen in other countries.”
Kaufman’s point is huge when considering, Messi is the face of MLS and Inter Miami has been in a winless slump for months, looking no better than they did three months ago when they were knocked out of the MLS playoffs in regular season play.
“The biggest stars in NFL teams, even during Super Bowl weeks, are talking to the media. In basketball during the NBA finals, the top players talk to the media. Messi just never has, and he clearly doesn’t have to.”
Kaufman pointed out that a lot of relevant stories have been lost due to Messi’s silence with the press, “We haven’t even had a chance to get a quote from Luis Suarez’s best friend,”. “That is [Messi’s] best friend. We’ve heard from Luis Suarez on how it is going to be to play with his best friend. We need to hear from Messi. The clock is ticking. I’m waiting for that interview.”
Messi also did not do any press for his big time match against Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr, and Kaufman was quick to point out that at Inter Miami it’s Messi calling the shots, “I know that the league, the team, and everyone have to do whatever Messi says, but it’s a disservice to the fans that [they] never get his perspective on how his first season went so far. I think the fans would like to know how he feels his first season in MLS went.”
