Lionel Messi sits out sold-out Inter Miami vs. Chicago Fire game, sixth game he misses
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Rachel Gillins, a high school soccer player from Hobart, Indiana, showed up at sold-out Soldier Field on Wednesday night on crutches wearing a pink No. 10 “Goat” jersey, hoping to see Lionel Messi and Inter Miami play against the Chicago Fire.
She did not get her wish, as the injured Argentine star did not travel and was not on the roster for the game. It was the sixth game of the past seven that he missed for Inter Miami. He missed one game while with the Argentine national team on Sept. 7 and has played only 37 minutes for Miami since.
Gillins, a diehard Messi fan, tore her ACL and meniscus during the first game of her senior season, but that wasn’t going to keep her from driving across the state border to see her favorite player in person. She had received the ticket as a present from her parents for her upcoming 18th birthday.
“This is an early 18th birthday present for me because when we saw that Messi was in Miami, I was trying to convince my parents, `It’s going to be my 18th birthday and my golden birthday, so can we please go to the Messi game in Chicago?’ We don’t normally do stuff like this for birthdays, but my dad was like, `OK, we’ll get the tickets.’’’’
They bought the tickets in late-June, shortly after Messi announced he was planning to join Inter Miami and were looking forward to the game all summer. Gillins sustained her season-ending injury after scoring “an awesome upper-90 goal” and had surgery on Sept. 7, the same day Messi aggravated an old injury while playing with Argentina’s national team against Ecuador.
“As I found out he was injured, I was like, `I really hope he plays against Chicago,’ but honestly, I understand,” she said, pointing to the giant brace on her left leg. “I wouldn’t judge him if he doesn’t feel he’s ready to come back yet. He shouldn’t rush. I may not get back on the field until May.”
Despite the disappointment of not getting to see Messi, Gillins was looking forward to the game. It was her first time seeing a Fire game in person, so she figured she would have a good time with or without Messi.
The Fire, which was averaging roughly 14,000 fans per game this season, sold all 61,500 seats for the game against Inter Miami. Most of the tickets were purchased before Messi was injured, and tickets ranged from hundreds of dollars to thousands.
But as the uncertainty of Messi’s availability dragged on, many fans tried to unload the tickets. Prices on the secondary market plunged. They were listed for as low as $25 as of Wednesday morning.
Anticipating no-shows, the Fire offered incentives for fans to show up, “regardless of which players are able to make an appearance on the pitch”. They offered all fans a $250 account credit toward new season-ticket packages for the 2024 season or a $50 account credit to all single-game ticket buyers who attend the match vs. Inter Miami.
The Fire released this statement on its website and social media channels: “The Chicago Fire are excited to host Inter Miami CF at Soldier Field this week. While we don’t yet know the official status of Lionel Messi’s availability for our match tomorrow, as there’s never a guarantee that an athlete will play on any given night due to several factors, we understand that many of our fans may be disappointed if they don’t get the chance to see him play. We realize that there will be many in attendance who are coming to a Chicago Fire match at Soldier Field for the first time, and we’re excited to welcome them to the Fire Family.”
Wednesday’s game was critical for both teams, as it had playoff implications. Chicago and Miami are among seven teams jockeying for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining.
The Fire is tied on points (37) for ninth place in the East but sit in 11th place because CF Montréal and D.C. United have the edge in the standings based on the MLS tiebreakers. Inter Miami is in 13th place with 33 points.
