Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba named to MLS All-Star Game roster. Plus, Messi injury update

Inter Miami standouts Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets were among the 30 players named to the 2024 MLS All-Star Game roster Monday, which comes as no surprise considering the quartet’s star power and the team’s success so far this season.

The only team with more All-Star selections was reigning league champion Columbus Crew, which had five.

All four Inter Miami players were voted into the All-Star Game in their first year on the ballot. Miami leads the Supporters Shield race with the league’s best record through 21 games. The team has 44 points on 13 wins, three losses and five ties. Miami also is the top-scoring team in MLS with 48 goals.

Messi has 12 goals and 13 assists in the 12 games he has played. He is on duty with the Argentine national team for Copa America, sat out the game vs. Peru on Saturday, but practiced with his teammates at FIU on Monday morning before the team headed to Houston for the quarterfinal against Ecuador on Thursday.

Suarez, on the Uruguay roster for the Copa America game against the United States Monday night, has 12 goals and five assists in 16 games for Inter Miami.

Busquets has appeared in 20 of 21 games, scored a goal, has four assists, and has been a mentor for the team’s young midfielders. Alba has three goals and four assists in 17 games, and his sublime left-footed blast in a 2-0 win at Nashville on Saturday ranked No. 2 on ESPN “SportsCenter’s” Play of the Day.

The All-Star Game will be played on July 24 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, and features the MLS All-Stars versus the best players in Mexico’s LIGA MX. It will be televised on Apple TV through the MLS Season Pass.

The roster was selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting (12 players), designations by MLS All-Star head coach Wilfried Nancy of the host club, the Columbus Crew (16 players), and a pair of selections by MLS commissioner Don Garber.

The commissioner’s picks are Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe and Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Héctor Herrera. Nagbe is a four-time MLS Cup champion and led the Crew to the Champions Cup final this year. Herrera, the former captain of the Mexican national team, has 25 goal contributions in 52 career matches for the Houston Dynamo.

Among the other players who made the list were reigning MLS MVP Luciano Acosta of FC Cincinnati, reigning Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga of Los Angeles FC, Chico Arango of Real Salt Lake, Cucho Hernandez of the Crew and Riqui Puig of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Players from 17 countries are represented on the roster: Argentina (three), Brazil (two), Canada (one), Colombia (two), Democratic Republic of the Congo (one), Finland (one), France (four), Germany (one), Italy (one), Liberia (one), Mexico (one), the Netherlands (one), Scotland (one), Spain (three), Switzerland (one), the United States (four), and Uruguay (two)

Here is the 2024 MLS All-Star roster by position and selection mechanism:

▪ Goalkeepers (3): Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC / Coach’s Selection), Hugo Lloris (LAFC / Coach’s Selection), Maarten Paes (FC Dallas / Voted in)

▪ Defenders (9): Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Rudy Camacho (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake / Voted In), Aaron Herrera (D.C. United / Voted In), Thiago Martins (New York City FC / Coach’s Selection), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati / Coach’s Selection), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids / Coach’s Selection)

▪ Midfielders (10): Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Mathieu Choinière (CF Montréal / Coach’s Selection), Evander (Portland Timbers / Coach’s Selection), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Coach’s Selection), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / Commissioner’s Pick), Robin Lod (Minnesota United FC / Coach’s Selection), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / Coach’s Selection), Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew / Commissioner’s Pick), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / Voted In)

▪ Forwards/wingers (8): Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango (Real Salt Lake / Voted In), Christian Benteke (D.C. United / Voted In), Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC / Coach’s Selection), Denis Bouanga (LAFC / Coach’s Selection), Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernández (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection