The Houston Dynamo are the latest MLS team to offer ticket holders a benefit after Lionel Messi didn’t join his teammates on Inter Miami for an away day. With news out that the Argentina forward would not make the trip to Houston for Sunday’s regular season match, the club issued a statement on Saturday evening offering a complimentary ticket for anyone who was preparing to catch the Dynamo’s game against Miami.
“The Houston Dynamo are excited to host Inter Miami CF at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday evening,” the club wrote in its statement. “The recently shared player status report for the match did not include forward Lionel Messi, but it has been reported he did not make the trip to Houston. Unfortunately, we have no control over who plays for our opponent.
“We look forward to hosting everyone tomorrow for what will be an incredible atmosphere and celebration of soccer for the city of Houston. To show our appreciation, fans who attend tomorrow night’s match can claim a complimentary ticket to a future Dynamo match this season. Additional details will be provided early next week.”
— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 2, 2025
Tickets remained highly priced on the secondary resale market, with some sites offering a “get-in” entry point exceeding $200 as of Friday.
This is the first competitive game of 2025 that Messi has missed, having played in both of Miami’s Concacaf Champions Cup games against Sporting Kansas City as well as the team’s regular season opener against New York City FC, which was a home game. Messi played just over an hour in Tuesday’s Champions Cup second leg, scoring the opener to help his team advance to the round of 16.
The 37-year-old has missed several games since joining Miami in 2023, particularly when the team has multiple matches in a single week. Often, the MLS clubs that host these matches have gone out of their way to make up for his absence, a considerate reaction given the exorbitant cost of Miami matches following the former FC Barcelona star’s arrival.
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Multiple clubs found themselves in a similar situation early in the 2024 season as Miami balanced its regular season with an ultimately fruitless Champions Cup run. The Vancouver Whitecaps offered a 50 percent reduction on all stadium food and a kids meal voucher for those attending who are under the age of 18. In 2023, the Chicago Fire followed up Messi’s first away day snub by offering a $250 account credit toward new season ticket holders for the following season, while existing season ticket members earned a $50 credit toward the following season’s package.
The resale market for MLS teams hosting Miami remains the loftiest of any matchup in the league. For example, a May 10 contest at Minnesota United — which elected to keep its game at Allianz Field, with a capacity of 19,400, instead of moving to a bigger venue like other clubs have — has a get-in entry point of $330 as of Sunday. The game will not take place for another two months, and it’s anybody’s guess if Messi will trek to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
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(Photo: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
