The lawsuit relates to the international friendlies Argentina played in the October window last year, wherein Lionel Messi played in only one of the two matches. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Lionel Messi is being sued by a Miami-based event promoter who says the FIFA World Cup winner violated terms of a USD 7 million contract by missing an exhibition match last year.

Vid Music Group filed the lawsuit for fraud and breach of contract against Messi and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in Miami-Dade circuit court last month, according to court records.

Messi and the AFA didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Messi appears with both his Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and Argentina’s national team, and fans routinely pay much higher prices for the chance to see him play.

According to the lawsuit, Vid signed a deal with the AFA last summer for exclusive rights to organise and promote Argentina’s friendlies last October against Venezuela and Puerto Rico in exchange for ticket, broadcast and sponsorship revenue.

Vid claims that Messi was supposed to play for at least 30 minutes in each match, unless he was injured.

The 38-year-old Messi watched Argentina’s 1-0 win against Venezuela on October 10 from a suite at South Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium, according to the lawsuit.

The next day, Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami’s 4-0 MLS win over Atlanta. That match was important to Inter Miami, since it gave his side home-field advantage for Round 1 of the playoffs.

Then, on October 14, Messi played in Argentina’s 6-0 win over Puerto Rico. That game was originally supposed to take place in Chicago, but low ticket sales in the city, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were making more than 1,000 arrests, led organisers to move the game to Florida.

The AFA blamed the immigration crackdowns when the smaller venue in Fort Lauderdale didn’t sell out, even after ticket prices were reduced to USD 25 each.

Vid hasn’t specified damages it is seeking in the lawsuit, but it claims it lost millions between Messi failing to appear in one game and low ticket sales at the other.

Published on Apr 16, 2026