Kily Gonzalez Confirms Messi Will Fly to Spain and Still Play Red Bulls

Inter Miami coach Kily Gonzalez has confirmed that Lionel Messi will travel to Oviedo next week to collect the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sport — and that the captain will be back in the squad for the Oct 24 MLS trip to Red Bull New York.

The coach's confirmation

Speaking on Friday, Gonzalez settled the question that had been hanging over Inter Miami's run-in. He confirmed that Messi will make the short transatlantic trip to Oviedo for the award ceremony, calling it an occasion the club fully endorses. In comments carried by ESPN, the coach said: "The whole club agrees that he needs to be there because it is an extremely important award, not just for him but for his family too."

The statement closes a week of speculation about whether Miami could afford to lose their captain so close to the regular-season finale. Gonzalez's tone was relaxed throughout — the trip, he suggested, is something Messi has earned, not something the club needs to manage around.

Why Miami are not worried

Gonzalez was explicit that the Spain trip changes nothing about the Red Bulls game plan. "He's going to be there, and I'm going to have him in the game too," the coach told reporters, in remarks carried by World Soccer Talk. ESPN's version of the quote went further: "Of course I will count on him for the match. Leo has the capacity for that, and I want him to be in good shape."

The confidence rests on logistics as much as trust. Oviedo is a short hop in football-travel terms, and Messi has made far more punishing journeys for Argentina duty throughout his career without his club form suffering. Gonzalez added that he was "not worried about it at all" — a message aimed as much at the squad as at the media.

It also reflects how the club views the award. The Princess of Asturias prize is one of the most prestigious honours in world sport, and Gonzalez described it as "terribly important" — a recognition of Messi's wider legacy that the whole organisation wants him to enjoy. Miami's position is that a captain who is allowed to savour these moments returns sharper, not slower.

There is precedent for the plan working. Messi has regularly combined long-haul Argentina trips with immediate club impact for Miami, including a stunning two-goal return against D.C. United earlier this month that sealed the playoff berth. The club's data on his recovery and output after international windows reportedly backs Gonzalez's relaxed stance.

What the award means for Messi

The Princess of Asturias Award for Sport was conferred on Messi last June, making him the first individual footballer to receive the honour. Awarded by the foundation in Oviedo, the prize recognises achievement across literature, science, international cooperation and sport, and its jury includes foundation president Teresa Perales.

Messi responded to the announcement with characteristic humility. "In truth, I feel enormously proud to receive this recognition given how important it is, and because it is not limited to what I do on the pitch but extends to what I do off it as well," he said at the time. The Oviedo ceremony is the formal presentation — and for Messi, a rare week where football takes a back seat to recognition of the person behind the player.

Miami's run-in takes shape

Before the Red Bulls trip on Oct 24, Miami must first handle Atlanta United, a game the club has already framed as a momentum test heading into the playoffs. Messi and Miami arrive carrying strong form — the captain leads the MLS Golden Boot race and sits just 11 short of Carlos Vela's single-season record of 34 goals.

The stakes are real. Miami have already clinched a playoff spot and are chasing a second Supporters' Shield after lifting their first in 2024. Every point in the final stretch matters for seeding, which is why Gonzalez's guarantee that his captain will be on the plane from Spain — and then on the pitch in Harrison — carries real weight for the dressing room.

The Gonzalez-Messi dynamic

The press conference also offered a window into how Gonzalez wants to use Messi in the run-in. He told reporters he does not want his captain dropping deep to collect the ball, preferring him closer to goal where he can hurt opponents. "His teammates have to give him that opportunity so we can find him and hurt the opponent," Gonzalez explained, adding that Messi's tendency to drop back usually signals a problem with the team's build-up.

It is a coach managing his talisman's minutes, movement and morale in equal measure — allowing the Spain trip without anxiety, protecting his minutes on the pitch, and keeping the focus on the goals that Miami still have to score. If Gonzalez's plan holds, Messi lifts a trophy in Oviedo and then gets back to the business of winning games in New Jersey.

What awaits in Harrison

The Oct 24 meeting at Sports Illustrated Stadium comes with a layered history. Inter Miami's visit to Harrison has rarely been quiet, and the Red Bulls will not make it easy — the trip to New Jersey is one of the league's trickier away days, with a hostile crowd and a pitch that has punished Miami before.

Miami's ambitions make the three points matter. A second Supporters' Shield is within reach after the first in 2024, and seeding for the MLS Cup playoffs will shape the entire postseason. With Atlanta United first up, Miami's final week of the regular season is a sprint — and having Messi available for both legs of it, Spain trip included, is exactly the outcome Gonzalez promised.

For Messi, it is business as usual: award ceremony, cross-Atlantic flight, back to scoring goals. At 39, that routine has become his signature — and Miami are happy to let him keep it.

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