“It was a very, very difficult decision,” remarked MLS Commissioner Don Garber after it was announced that Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba will earn a one-match suspension for missing the MLS All-Star match. What Garber said was in the hope that both Inter Miami stars and the club supporters would understand and respect the decision taken by the stakeholders, which was fairly taken with even head coach Javier Mascherano adding, “The team is doing very well even without them, and we don’t have any resentment. We’ve moved past that.” Alright, moving on, it is. But who would have thought this fiasco would end up seeing both the MLS and the Herons facing the potential threat of seeing their best player leave?

Well, fear not, the bullet has been dodged. But how exactly did we come to this? It all stems from last week’s pre-season game, where Italian side Como FC hosted French giants Lille. Among the attendees at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia was Lionel Messi’s beloved wife, Antonella Roccuzzo. The post-match saw Como boss Cesc Fabregas address the presence of his former Barcelona teammate and best friend’s wife, emphasizing how close their two families are.

This only fueled transfer rumors about Messi potentially linking up with another of his ex-Catalonia locker room buddies—something Fabregas didn’t hesitate to welcome playfully. “Never say never, he [Messi] was at my house on vacation. He went on a trip to see friends, we are friends, even his wives and children. As Ludi said after the match, we can’t say Messi has never played for Como, given his children. But he’s in America.”

However, Fabregas’ optimism was quickly shunned by I Lariani president Mirwan Suwarso, pouring cold water on all the potential transfer hopes. “The Messi family were guests of Fabregas and his wife. It would be a dream for him to come here, but why would he leave behind all the money he is earning now? Besides, we have not had any contact with him,” he began.

As if this weren’t enough to clarify that ‘Como to Messi’ dream is done and dusted, Suwarso added, “It’s not even a dream, it’s just impossible”, he told Sky. Sorry, Como fans, it looks like it may be a dream for you all, but this was never in the minds of the Italian club’s stakeholders. Yet, what we are surprised to hear is that they can’t afford him.

For those unaware, Como is backed by one of the richest owners in Italy, thanks to the major financial backing of majority owners Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Hartono. Having bought the club back in 2019, both brothers have a combined net worth of $48 billion according to Forbes.

Then again, if not the Messi dream, their backing at least helped the Italian club enjoy decent success over the past few years, rising from the fourth tier to the first with three promotions in six years. Also, even if the billionaire-backed club had shown interest in acquiring the 2022 World Cup winner, we bet the answer would have been no from the man himself!

Lionel Messi doesn’t see anything after Inter Miami!

The ongoing MLS All-Star saga, plus her misses’ Como appearance, might have been enough to ignite potential transfer rumors of Lionel Messi leaving Fort Lauderdale. However, the Argentinian won’t look for a new challenge ahead. This surprising revelation comes from none other than Messi’s official biographer, Guillem Balague.

He shared the insight during a past appearance on ‘The Debrief’ podcast, where he was joined by fellow respected journalists Ben Jacobs, Angus Scott, and Fabrizio Romano. “Yes. I say that because now there’s a live sight to it. He needs to have his family comfortable and happy, and he’ll do that. He would go back to Barcelona in some capacity, but Inter Miami will be his last club, I’m pretty sure of that.” 

So, it looks like Messi won’t be heading to Como—if there was even an offer to begin with. That said, we’re sure both MLS and Inter Miami breathed a sigh of relief after hearing all this. Did you feel the same? Share your thoughts in the comments below!