Lionel Messi will not play for Inter Miami in the Open Cup final

Whether or not his star player is available will depend on game time, manager Gerardo Martino said on Tuesday. When the lineup was revealed ahead of the final at DRV PNK Stadium, Messi was not included in the squad.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, Jordi Alba, is also unavailable as he deals with an injury of his own.

Miami is making a second bid for the trophy after winning the inaugural League Cup between MLS and Liga MX teams.

Thousands of fans were already in the Fort Lauderdale area late Wednesday afternoon — many wearing Messi jerseys in either Argentina’s blue and white or Inter Miami’s pink — long before the gates opened for the Cup final, if for no other reason than to watch the busses arrive. the team.

However, when the buses arrived there was no Messi, a fact that may have led to costly disappointment for some fans. Ticket prices on secondary markets, with sales links posted on the team’s social media channels Tuesday, ranged from $145 to nearly $4,000 about an hour before the game.

Messi has been in and out of Miami’s lineup since returning from international duty for Argentina due to a leg injury related to an old scar issue. He did not play in the loss to Atlanta United on September 16 and attempted to play on September 20 against Toronto FC but withdrew after about 30 minutes in a game that Miami won 4-0.

Alba was replaced due to muscle fatigue in the Toronto match shortly before Messi, and after the match Martino said that neither of them would play in Saturday’s match away to Orlando City. Miami was able to tie the game to keep its MLS Cup playoff hopes alive.

Messi’s impact on Miami since his arrival in July in a blockbuster deal has been noticeable. He scored 11 goals and contributed to a total of 16 goals, and the team never lost a match in which he played.

Miami is five points behind New York City FC, which it will face on Saturday in Major League Soccer, in the last place standings in the playoffs with five games to play and two postponed matches.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.