Soccer superstar Lionel Messi created excitement and drove ticket sales this summer when he joined Inter Miami.
But now, as WMFE's Joe Byrnes reports, fans who paid a premium for tickets to his match against Orlando City on Sunday are in for a let-down.
Messi checked out of the Inter Miami match against Toronto Wednesday. The coach blamed muscle fatigue and said Messi won't be available against Orlando City.
Comedy podcaster and diehard Orlando City fan Daniel Dennis knows people who splurged, spending thousands of dollars on tickets, so their kids could see the Michael Jordan of soccer.
Dennis says they accept that it's a gamble, that the player could get injured. They're just disappointed.
But, make no mistake, he isn't, not as a Lions fan who knows Messi is a difference-maker, Dennis said. "I mean, I never wish any player hurt, but I'm certainly glad he's not playing. So I look at it a little bit differently, although I didn't spend a couple of thousand dollars on tickets."
The match has been sold out for weeks, but there are plenty of tickets for resale now for modest prices on StubHub and TicketMaster.
Orlando City clinched the playoffs this week, and the club says attendance is on the upswing, regardless of Messi.
