Will Inter Miami captain Leo Messi participate in this year's MLS All-Star match?

Some supporters might have suggested playing the All-Star Game would have helped him maintain his readiness, bu would it? Really?

All-star matches are for the fans and the people who profit from ticket sales, merchandising and broadcast revenue; maybe some small share trickles down to the players but disrupted routines and potential injuries offset any benefit to the athletes -- except the ones not selected, who get to enjoy an in-season holiday.

Purists rightfully question the quality of these showcase match-ups; does anybody who watched the Eastern Conference beat the West 211-186 in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game believe they were watching the best version of basketball?

Baseball is the only team sport that can stage an all-star game that truly showcases not only individual talent but their sport played at the highest level. That's because it's a team sport that depends on individual battles; pitcher vs hitter, runner vs. thrower. The skills and strategies translate easily from team to team. That isn't the case with more free-flowing, fluid team competitions: basketball, hockey, soccer...even, to a lesser extent, American football.

The skills competitions are my favorite part of any all-star festivities; now, those are fun, and the players genuinely want to win. Sure, they want to win the exhibition match, but they know there's no real consequence for losing -- and if they takie it too seriously, they're more likely to get injured or tick off players they may face later in the season. So the match devolves into a family reunion pick-up game.

Yes, it is an honor to be selected, and fun for the athletes and fans who participate. But no league should force players to attend, especially when they have legitimate reasons to miss the event -- As Alba and Messi did last year.

My guess is that Messi will attend and participate in some capacity to satisfy his MLS bosses; he knows missing even one Inter Miami match could affect the team's season. But I won't be upset if he doesn't.

Fans, players and media members voted for the First XI; Dean Smith, coach of host club Charlotte FC, will select 13 reserves and MLS Commissioner Don Garber will select the final two players to the 26-man roster that will compete against a team of Liga MX players on July 29.

Nashville SC, the league leader with 33 points after just 14 matches, has three players in the First XI, forward Hany Mukhtar, defender Andy Najar and goalkeeper Brian Schwake. Chicago's Hugo Cuypers and LAFC's Son Heung-Min will join Messi in the attack, the midfielders are Mukhtar, Vancouver's Sebastian Berhalter and Real Salt Lake youngster Zavier Gozo, and Anthony Markanich (Minnesota United), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire) and Tim Ream (Charlotte) join Najar on the starting back line.

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