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The event promoter Vid Music Group filed a lawsuit for fraud and breach of contract against Lionel Messi and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in the Miami-Dade circuit court, claiming that the Argentine star violated the terms of a seven million dollar contract by not playing in a friendly match in October 2025.
The lawsuit was filed last month and became public this Wednesday, according to court records and a report from The Associated Press.
According to the agreement, Vid signed a contract with the AFA during the summer of 2025 to obtain exclusive rights to organize and promote two friendlies for Argentina: one against Venezuela and another against Puerto Rico, in exchange for revenue from ticket sales, broadcasting, and sponsorships.
The contract stipulated that , unless he was injured.
However, Messi, 38 years old, witnessed Argentina's 1-0 victory over Venezuela on October 10 at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida, without stepping onto the field.
The most controversial element of the lawsuit is what happened the next day: Messi played and scored two goals in Inter Miami's 4-0 victory over Atlanta in MLS.
That game was crucial for the team to secure the advantage of playing at home in the first round of the playoffs.
This detail is central to the argument presented by Vid, who claims that Messi's absence from the friendly match was not due to an injury, but rather a deliberate decision that benefited Inter Miami at the expense of the promoter.
Four days later, on October 14, Messi did play with Argentina in the 6-0 victory over Puerto Rico at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, where he contributed two assists.
That match had been moved from Chicago -where it was originally scheduled- due to low ticket sales and the climate of tension created by the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which made over 1,000 arrests in the city.
The AFA attributed the low ticket sales in Fort Lauderdale to immigration raids, even after the prices of the ticket sales were reduced to 25 dollars each.
The match against Venezuela at the Hard Rock Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000 spectators, saw an attendance of only 15,000 people.
Vid has not specified the exact amount of damages being claimed, but states that he has lost millions due to Messi's absence in one match and the low ticket sales in another.
Neither Messi nor the AFA has responded to the news agency's requests for comment so far.
This is not the first case where Messi's absence from a match causes controversy.
In 2023, their non-participation in a friendly match in Hong Kong sparked protests and refund requests from fans and local authorities, following a similar pattern that is now being formally articulated before a U.S. court.
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