Why Lionel Messi may 'refuse' to play in some MLS matches

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi could reportedly refuse to play in some matches as MLS teams face a huge dilemma.

After weeks of intense speculation, it was confirmed last month that Messi will sign for Inter Miami upon the expiration of his contract with Paris Saint Germain.

Since then, many fans have been waiting in anticipation for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to be unveiled.

On Sunday, Messi was officially paraded as Inter Miami’s new player in front of a packed stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

However, ahead of Messi’s debut for his new club, there are concerns that the Argentine legend may refuse to play in some MLS matches due to the playing surface.

According to the Daily Mirror, Messi is unwilling to play on artificial surfaces.

In the MLS, six teams currently use turf instead of grass at their stadiums. Those clubs are believed to be New England Revolution, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, Charlotte FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and Atlanta United.

With away trips to Charlotte and Atlanta still to come for Inter Miami, the absence of Messi could be a mega commercial blow for the clubs and the MLS.

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Previously, David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have both expressed concerns over artificial surfaces.

Beckham told Globe and Mail: “As a professional athlete, you can't play a game like soccer on that sort of field. What it does to your body as a soccer player, you're in bits for three days after that.

“Every game, every team should have grass, without a doubt. You can't ask any athlete to perform at a high level on the FieldTurf.”

Whilst Ibrahimovic said: “By playing on turf, I risk to get damaged. I don't say I will get injured.

“I don't know; I could get injured also in normal games but the consequence is everywhere, the risk is everywhere. The risk is higher on the turf and I tried to play on the turf in Portland, and I felt very bad.”

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MLS commissioner Don Garber has also spoken about the situation.

He told The Athletic: “That’s going to be the decision of every club when they do travel to those stadiums that don’t have natural grass.

“My expectations are that that’s what they will do, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to figure all of that out. MLS promotes a lot of international games and we have been able to bring natural grass into those stadiums, but we’ve never done that for a regular season game.”

He added: “And then you see some of the best players who’ve ever played the game, the (Thierry) Henrys of the world and Kakas of the world, who played on turf. So I think that’s a process that will have to play out over time.”