Football star Lionel Messi has been sued by a Miami-based event promoter who claims he broke the terms of a $7 million contract by failing to play in a scheduled exhibition match last year.
According to court records, Vid Music Group filed a lawsuit last month in a Miami-Dade circuit court, accusing Messi and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of fraud and breach of contract.
The company says it had secured exclusive rights to organize and promote Argentina’s friendly matches against Venezuela and Puerto Rico in October, in return for ticket sales, broadcast rights and sponsorship revenue. It claims the agreement required Messi to play at least 30 minutes in each match unless he was injured.
Messi did not play in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Venezuela on October 10, instead watching from a suite at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. However, he played the following day for his club Inter Miami in an MLS match, where he scored twice in a 4-0 win over Atlanta United.
He later featured in Argentina’s 6-0 victory over Puerto Rico on October 14. That match had originally been scheduled in Chicago but was moved to Florida amid low ticket sales and security concerns.
The promoter alleges it suffered losses running into millions of dollars due to Messi’s absence from one match and poor attendance at the other.
Messi and the AFA have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
FP/MI
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