Lionel Messi misses 2nd match this week, doesn’t dress for Miami at Atlanta

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi did not dress for Saturday’s match at Atlanta United, the second match he missed this week.

Atlanta is among five MLS stadiums with artificial turf surfaces. Messi and defender Jordi Alba did not dress for Atlanta United’s 5-2 win.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said the decision to hold out Messi was “because he has muscular fatigue and it was prudent to leave him.” Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank said he believes the FieldTurf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a surface viewed by some players as more taxing on their bodies than grass, was not the reason Messi remained in Miami.

Blank referred to Messi’s statement after signing with Inter Miami that he wouldn’t avoid playing on an artificial surface.

“I think he made that decision,” Blank said..

“I don’t really have an opinion on that. I’d just repeat what he said in his press conference, that he has competed on artificial turf since he was a youngster and to some extent as a professional. I don’t think it had anything to do with his decision. I think he suffered some sort of injury, however minor it might be.” Atlanta United coach Gonzalo Pineda said he learned about Messi’s decision on social media.

“I checked the Twitter account to know he was not coming,” Pineda said, adding he encouraged his players to remain focused despite the attention given Messi’s status.

“Honestly, I told the players, there are a lot of things out there in the atmosphere and everything seems to be about Inter Miami. We have to turn that to about us.” Blank spoke at a news conference before the match to discuss details of Friday’s announcement that the U.S.

Soccer Federation plans to build a national training center in Atlanta. The project is backed by a USD