Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul are expected to take a break before rejoining Inter Miami CF for the upcoming MLS season after their participation in the FIFA World Cup with Argentina, ESPN sources reported on Monday.
Both players participated in the intense 1-0 World Cup final against Spain, with Messi playing the full 120 minutes. He featured in all eight of Argentina’s matches during the tournament, starting in seven of them.
FIFPRO, the global union for professional footballers, has advocated for a mandatory 21-day rest period at the end of each season for health reasons.
FIFA discussed these measures with FIFPRO in 2025, culminating in a mutual agreement on the proposal.
“FIFA and the player unions evaluated future collaborative projects, focusing on player rest, recovery, and competition scheduling within the International Match Calendar (IMC),” FIFA stated. “There is a consensus that players should have at least 72 hours of rest between matches and a minimum of 21 days of vacation at the end of each season.
“This rest period should be managed individually by clubs and players based on their match schedules and relevant collective agreements.”
It remains uncertain whether Messi and De Paul will be absent for the entire recommended 21-day period. Their time off will be coordinated with Inter Miami, but sources indicate they will miss the matches against Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday and CF Montréal on Saturday.
Sources also mentioned that Miami has notified MLS that Messi and De Paul will not be available for the All-Star game on July 29, as it falls within the 21-day recovery window. Both players were selected to represent the team against the Liga MX All-Stars.
Messi concluded the World Cup campaign with eight goals and four assists, finishing as the runner-up for the Golden Boot behind Kylian Mbappé, who scored 10 goals. He led Argentina to their second consecutive final, following their victory in 2022.
“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” Messi expressed on social media in Spanish on Monday. “Yet, I cherish all the good moments—the matches we turned around, giving our all, which will forever remain in our memories, along with the support of a whole nation that, through hard work and effort, helped us return to being among the best in the world.
“Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and every message. Once again, we managed to unite as a country and share the immense pride of being Argentine.
“I also wish to congratulate Spain on their championship.”
This summer, in addition to reaching 125 international career goals, Messi became the first player to start in three World Cup finals, having previously appeared in 2014 against Germany and 2022 against France.