Lionel Messi won’t be at the 2026 MLS All-Star game, as the 39-year-old soccer legend has opted to skip the showcase match for the third-straight season. Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul has also been removed from the roster after both represented Argentina on the road to the 2026 World World Cup final last week.
Four roster replacements were named Saturday, as Hugo Cuypers and Mbekezeli Mbokazi will also be absent. Cuypers, who was the MLS Golden Boot co-leader earlier in the season, is no longer a part of the league after Chicago Fire sold him to Liga MX’s CF Monterrey following the introduction of star forward Robert Lewandowski. Mbokazi is recovering from a lower body injury. U.S. men’s national team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter will also likely be out of the mix, given that he is heavily linked with an impending transfer to English Championship side Middlesbrough from Vancouver Whitecaps.
