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Will Lionel Messi play when Inter Miami travel to Gillette Stadium to face the Revolution?
A recent defeat in the Club World Cup could clear a path for Messi to play, but a packed schedule may also make the midweek game at Gillette Stadium one the Argentine skips.
After playing the central role in the most attended sporting event at Gillette Stadium in 2024, Lionel Messi may try to do the same when Inter Miami returns to play the Revolution on July 9.
Predicting whether or not the Argentine superstar will play remains an imperfect science, but recent developments provide a glimmer of hope for New Englanders clamoring to get a view of Messi magic.
A year ago, the World Cup winner and fellow former Barcelona teammates like Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets all featured in Miami’s 4-1 thrashing of the Revolution at Foxborough in front of a club record crowd of 65,612.
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Messi and company overcame a scintillating start from New England via Tomas Chancalay’s highlight-worthy first-minute goal, eventually grinding New England’s defense to dust. The Argentine didn’t disappoint the sellout crowd, scoring twice and assisting Suarez.
After much of the discussion in the buildup to the 2024 game at Gillette Stadium centered on whether Messi would play on the turf surface, he stayed on the field for the entirety of the game and had no issue.
A year later, the variable that is most concerning for those hoping Messi plays is timing. In 2024, the matchup at New England fell earlier in the season (in April), before the inevitable summer logjam of games due to other tournaments. In 2025, the road game vs. the Revolution comes right in the middle of a busy Miami schedule:
- July 5: at CF Montréal
- July 9: at New England Revolution
- July 12: vs. SC Nashville
- July 16: at FC Cincinnati
- July 19: at New York Red Bulls
The reason for so many games in such a short span of time is partly due to Miami’s recently concluded involvement in FIFA’s Club World Cup. Participation in the international tournament meant that Miami took a hiatus from MLS games during the month of June.
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But after escaping the group stage of the Club World Cup — including becoming the first MLS team to defeat a European opponent in a meaningful game following a 2-1 win over Porto — Miami was eliminated by UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday in the Round of 16 in a 4-0 rout. Now, in order to make up missed MLS games, Messi’s team must march through a month that includes multiple midweek games (like the one against the Revolution).
The schedule congestion goes on for Miami beyond this point as well, with two more games in July (including a July 30 opener in the Leagues Cup, another midseason interruption to the league that Messi — leading the flagship team of MLS — will be expected to make a strong showing in).
Still, the loss in the Club World Cup provides some amount of hope for New England soccer fans hoping Messi plays on July 9. Had Miami somehow made the final of the tournament, it would’ve been held on July 13, days after the scheduled Gillette Stadium game. Either New England’s MLS matchup would’ve been rescheduled, or Miami head coach Javier Mascherano would’ve likely gone with a heavily rotated lineup in order to rest his stars prior to the final.
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With the prospect of a looming final removed, it’s more likely that Messi will play. Despite the busy schedule in recent months, Messi hasn’t missed a game since April 27, when Mascherano rested him for a 4-3 loss vs. FC Dallas (a game which fell in between match-ups in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final).
Messi’s recent Instagram post also stated the importance of the upcoming MLS schedule. Turning the page on the club’s defeat in the Club World Cup, he wrote, “Now it’s time to focus on the next round [in] MLS and in everything that is to come.”
As always, it’s impossible to fully know if a particular player will or won’t play ahead of time. Still, based on Miami’s current circumstances, it seems likely that (barring unexpected injury this weekend against Montreal) he could once again take the field in Foxborough and look to terrorize the Revolution’s back line.
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