Soccer’s greatest player of all time is scheduled to come to St. Paul in May.
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Superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are set to play Minnesota United at Allianz Field at 3:30 p.m. May 10.
This is the first time Messi is on the docket to play against MNUFC since the legendary Argentine playmaker joined MLS in 2023. The 37-year-old is an eight-time winner of the Ballon d’Or trophy for the best player in the world and winner of the 2022 World Cup in 2022 and 2024 MLS MVP.
“We’re really excited … for our fans to potentially have the opportunity to see the greatest player of all time play at Allianz Field,” MNUFC CEO Shari Ballard said in a call with reporters. “… We like that it’s in the middle of May. Hopefully the weather will be great and it will be a beautiful afternoon at Allianz Field.”
Messi’s health will be tracked going into the spring date after he missed 45 percent of the 2024 season, a big chunk coming after he injured his ankle during Copa America competition in the summer.
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Miami went on to win the 2024 Supporters Shield but was bounced out of the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The team also features a handful of other international stars, including Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba.
The Loons explored moving the upcoming Miami game to either U.S. Bank Stadium or Huntington Bank Stadium to accommodate a larger crowd. That could have come with roughly 40,000 more fans in the venue and, in turn, sell revenue via ticket sales. But the club decided against it.
“What it really came down to for us was it would not be congruent with who the club is, how we’ve grown. We feel really strongly about that,” Ballard said. “We want our season-ticket holders to be able to watch the Miami game from the seats that they’ve spent their money on and supported us with. We didn’t want to disrupt our partners who have helped us build this club. … Allianz Field was built for playing games like this.”
Both of those bigger football stadiums have artificial turf and soccer players, particularly older ones, often avoid playing on the surface due to a belief it comes with higher injury risks. Messi didn’t play in Vancouver’s BC Place last season, and this reason was given.
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The Columbus Crew’s decision this week to move its upcoming Messi game to the Cleveland Browns’ stadium — given the teams’ shared ownership in the Haslem family — has been met with stiff criticisms.
The Loons missed out on Messi in 2023 and 2024; MNUFC hasn’t played the Herons since 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Here are other highlights from Thursday’s MNUFC schedule release:
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— MNUFC will bookend the season against the two Los Angeles clubs: the season opener is Feb. 22 at LAFC and the regular-season finale, Decision Day, is at LA Galaxy, which trounced the Loons 6-2 in the Western Conference semifinals in November.
— United will have four nationally televised games: the LA season opener (FOX) and three on FS1: Sporting Kansas City on March 15, FC Dallas on July 4 and Seattle Sounders on Aug. 16.
— The Loons’ home opener is against CF Montreal on March 1. That early spring kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
— The Loons will play expansion club San Diego FC at home on June 14 and on the road at Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 13. With the 30th MLS club, teams will play each conference opponent twice, once at home and on the road, in addition to six cross-conference opponents. Besides Montreal, the Loons will play Chicago Fire, New York City, Toronto, New York Red Bulls and Miami.
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Loons’ 2025 schedule
(Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. unless noted)
Feb. 22 — at LAFC, 3:30 p.m.
March 1 — vs. CF Montreal
March 8 — at San Jose, 9:30
March 15 — at Kansas City, 7
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March 22 — vs. LA Galaxy, 3:30
March 29 — vs. Salt Lake
April 6 — at New York City, 4
April 12 — at Toronto, 1:30
April 19 — vs. FC Dallas
April 26 — vs. Vancouver
May 3 — at Austin FC
May 10 — vs. Miami, 3:30
May 14 — at Houston
May 17 — vs. St. Louis
May 24 — vs. Austin
May 28 — at Vancouver, 9:30
June 1 — at Seattle, 5
June 14 — vs. San Diego
June 25 — vs. Houston
June 28 — at New York Red Bulls, 6:30
July 4 — at FC Dallas
July 12 — vs. San Jose
July 16 — vs. LAFC
July 19 — at Portland, 9:30
July 26 — at St. Louis
Aug. 10 — vs. Colorado, 5
Aug. 16 — vs. Seattle
Aug. 23 — at Real Salt Lake, 8:30
Sept. 13 — at San Diego, 9:30
Sept. 20 — Chicago
Sept. 27 — at Colorado, 8:30
Oct. 4 — Kansas City
Oct. 18 — LA Galaxy, 8
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