Less than a week after losing the 2026 World Cup final to Spain, Argentinian soccer stars and club teammates Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul will miss their second Inter Miami match in a row, not making themselves available for Saturday’s away fixture against CF Montréal. The World Cup finalists missed the team’s first game back from the international break, a clash with the Chicago Fire, which featured a heart-stopping own-goal to open the scoring against Robert Lewandowski’s side, before Luis Suárez stepped up with a brace to help salvage a 3–2 victory. Earlier on Saturday, both Messi and De Paul also officially pulled out of the 2026 MLS All-Star game and its surrounding festivities, which are scheduled for this week in Charlotte, culminating in a game against the Liga MX All-Stars on Wednesday night. Messi and De Paul are taking advantage of the 21-day rest period as negotiated by FIFAPro, a global players’ union. At the same time, their absence from the All-Star game rests on an agreement between MLS and the MLS Players’ Association, which forgives them a potential suspension for their absences. While the pair have taken a full week off and will likely continue to be absent from Inter Miami until sometime in August, most other MLS players who featured at the World Cup have returned to their teams, including nine that feature in the updated All-Star roster. In addition to missing Messi and De Paul, Miami will be without the injured Tadeo Allende, David Ayala, Maxi Falcón and Gonzalo Luján. Young players Santiago Morales and Alexander Shaw are out on international duty with the U-20 U.S. men’s national team at the Concacaf Championship, which serves as qualifying for the U-20 World Cup and LA 2028 Olympics. Luis Suárez Turns Back the ClockSuárez can’t be stopped right now. | Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire/Getty ImagesWhile Messi and De Paul aren’t with the Herons to offer their skills and veteran experience, 39-year-old Luis Suárez has shown that he is still productive. With a brace against Chicago, the former Uruguay frontman has eight goals and five assists in 703 minutes this season, bringing him to 50 goals in 100 games with Inter Miami. He is likely to line up top with Germán Berterame, the marquee offseason signing who has been inconsistent in his performance level and production. Behind them, reliable midfielder Yannick Bright is likely to start before heading off to Charlotte as an MLS All-Star replacement. Miami sit comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference heading into the matchup with 34 points through 16 games, trailing the Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC, who top the table with 39 points heading into Matchday 18. Montréal sit at the other end of the table with 15 points, 13th in the Eastern Conference. READ THE LATEST MLS NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow