Lionel Messi won’t start MLS game vs. NYRB

Fans will have to wait a little bit longer for Lionel Messi’s regular-pseason debut. 

Messi, suiting up for his first regular-season MLS game, is not in the starting lineup for Inter Miami at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. He is expected to appear in second half off the bench. 

Sergio Busquets is also on the bench. Jordi Alba is starting.

Miami coach Tata Martino has spoken about the necessity of resting Messi and his club’s other stars amid fixture congestion. Miami needed extra time and penalties to advance past FC Cincinnati in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Messi debuted for Miami on July 21 and has played 684 minutes in total. Over the last two weeks, Messi has played 390 minutes across four matches.

“From this point forward, we will evaluate how we approach these next three games,” Martino told reporters this week.

Messi’s upcoming schedule includes MLS games against Nashville and LAFC on Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, respectively, as well as a pair of World Cup qualifiers with Argentina versus Ecuador (on Sept. 9) and against Bolivia (on Sept. 12). The 36-year-old then has matches against Atlanta United (Sept. 16), Toronto FC (Sept. 20) and Orlando City (Sept. 24) on his schedule before the U.S. Open final against Houston on Sept. 27.

Busquets has started every game Messi has, while Alba has started each of the club’s last five games, arriving after Messi and Busquets.

The news comes as a big disappointment to fans, with tickets for Red Bull Arena spiking into the thousands for the best seats. The cheapest price on Ticketmaster to get in two hours before kickoff was $470 each.

It also comes as a big disappointment to MLS and Apple TV, which are simulcasting the match live in Times Square.

Miami sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, 14 points below the playoff line with just 12 games left. Every point is crucial moving forward, with the club likely to need at least eight wins down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs. How Martino balances that urgency with keeping Messi, Busquets and Alba fresh will be fascinating.

The Red Bulls are also below the playoff line, though only three points back. They currently are tied for a league-record playoff streak at 13 consecutive seasons, and if they make it again this year the record will be theirs alone, but will need a boost down the stretch.

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(Photo: Aaron Doster / USA Today)