Is Lionel Messi playing today? Latest on Inter Miami star’s status for El Salvador preseason friendly

Lionel Messi’s club Inter Miami begins their 2024 global preseason tour with a friendly against El Salvador in the Caribbean nation on Saturday.

Inter Miami’s preseason tour will see them travel more than 23,000 miles around the world, visiting El Salvador, Hong Kong, Japan, and Saudi Arabia before finishing the trip domestically in Dallas.

After taking the last two months off, Messi is in the squad for the preseason tour, along with other Inter Miami superstars including new signing Luis Suarez.

The 36-year-old was his usual brilliant self last season after joining the MLS club, but suffered an injury down the end of the season, which brought into question his ability to stay fit across a full campaign’s crowded fixture list. With his first complete season with Inter Miami nearing closer, the conversation will be about how to manage his minutes to keep him fit for the most important fixtures.

Fans can live stream the friendly against El Salvador free in English on MLSSoccer.com or in Spanish on MLSes.com.

MORE: Full Inter Miami preseason schedule prior to 2024 MLS season

Will Lionel Messi play for Inter Miami in friendly vs El Salvador?

Lionel Messi is in the Inter Miami squad for the friendly against El Salvador on Saturday, but it’s highly unlikely that he will start the match.

With Messi and his teammates just returning from their offseason break, they will almost surely be eased into full match action, more than likely coming off the bench to begin the preseason schedule.

The same will surely be true for Inter Miami’s other aging stars like Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, as well as new signing Luis Suarez.

“We have a responsibility to make sure the fans feel well represented on the field when our big stars aren’t playing,” said Inter Miami manager Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino prior to the start of preseason.

“If the fans know that for different reasons Leo [Messi] won’t be there, or Busi [Sergio Busquets] won’t be there, or Jordi [Alba], but we will have a very competitive team, that is an important message.”

Inter Miami squad for El Salvador friendly

All Inter Miami’s top stars are officially in their squad for the friendly against El Salvador, but will need time to ramp up into full match fitness after nearly two months off.

First-choice goalkeeper Drake Callender is notably absent as he takes part in USMNT January camp, potentially starting in the friendly against Slovenia on Saturday.

Also absent is the club’s most recent offseason signing, defender Nico Freire who joined from Brazilian club Palmeiras just days ago, too soon to make the trip with the rest of the team.

Pos	Name	Age	Nationality
GK	CJ Dos Santos	23	USA/Portugal
GK	Cole Jensen	22	USA
DEF	Jordi Alba	34	Spain
DEF	Noah Allen	19	USA
DEF	Tomas Aviles	19	Argentina
DEF	Sergii Kryvtsov	32	Ukraine
DEF	Christopher McVey	26	USA/Sweden
DEF	Ryan Sailor	25	USA
DEF	DeAndre Yedlin	30	USA
MID	Sergio Busquets	35	Spain
MID	Benjamin Cremaschi	18	USA/Argentina
MID	Facundo Farias	21	Argentina
MID	Gregore	29	Brazil
MID	Julian Gressel	30	USA
MID	David Ruiz	19	Honduras
MID	Lawson Sunderland	22	USA/Germany
MID	Robert Taylor	29	Finland
FWD	Leonardo Campana	23	Ecuador
FWD	Lionel Messi	36	Argentina
FWD	Luis Suarez	36	Uruguay