A frustrated fan vents his frustrations after shelling out nearly $5,000 to witness the Inter Miami legend play—only to have the Argentine miss the Vancouver Whitecaps match due to a distinctive sign

The match between the Herons and the Vancouver Whitecaps, which took place in Canada, sold more than 50,000 tickets. Seeing eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi play was the reason many in the crowd had splurged on experiential admission passes.

Unfortunately for them, Tata Martino’s traveling squad omitted the legendary player, along with Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets, two more former Barcelona greats. In a move meant to help them handle their workloads better, Inter Miami decided to rest that decorated trio.

Suppоrters in Vаncоuver were eаger tо express their displeаsure with the decisiоn. оne persоn cоnstructed а hоmemаde plаcаrd thаt sаid hоw he pаid $4900 оn аirfаre, tickets, meаls, аnd lоdging, just tо see the clаimed stаr аttrаctiоn stаy in Flоridа, while аnоther chаnged their jerseys tо sаy “Missing” insteаd оf Messi’s nаme.

While Inter Miami has not apologized for making selection calls that benefit the team, they have also not promised that Lionel Messi will play in every game. However, Martino is expected to have his charismatic captain available for Inter’s next two home matches against St. Louis City and Atlanta United.