MLS All-Star Game: Messi still a no-show; James, Jordi Alba out of skills competition
Inter Miami left back Jordi Alba and León midfielder James Rodríguez were both slated to take part in Tuesday night's skills challenge event at Austin FC's Q2 Stadium but were scrapped from the lineup.
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Liga MX confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday night that Rodríguez did not travel for the game at all, in fact. Monterrey defender and former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos, another one of Liga MX's headliners, is expected to arrive Wednesday and take part in the match for the second time in his career (2017, with Madrid).
MLS has not confirmed whether Alba, who started in last year's event in Columbus, will take part in the game.
Meanwhile, superstar Lionel Messi, the league's co-leading scorer and reigning MVP, was also selected to play in the game, but so far has been absent from any events. Multiple sources declined to say whether Messi will attend Wednesday's game – which could result in discipline.
MLS rules dictate that players who are not injured and opt to not participate in the All-Star Game are then suspended for one league match, in an effort to encourage involvement. Former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimović, for instance, was suspended one game in 2018 for skipping the event.
'I think it is ridiculous, but yeah, no comments,' Ibrahimović told reporters at the time. 'They do whatever they want. I come from a different world, I come from the real world.
'It is what it is. I respect in the end, and I'm sorry for my teammates only that I could not help them in the game. But yeah, people are interested in different things. They lose on it, and for me it doesn't matter.'
Should Messi not show, he would potentially be at risk of missing Miami's home match on Saturday night against table-topping FC Cincinnati. He and Miami teammate Luis Suárez both missed last year's All-Star event, but both had injuries coming out of Copa América.
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