New details emerged from the lawsuit against Lionel Messi and the AFA for alleged fraud and breach of contract

The lawsuit against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for the absence of Lionel Messi in a friendly match in The United States added a new chapter. The lawyers of the plaintiff company, the production company VID Music Group, gave new details about the case, seeking to expand the soccer player's liability in the case

.

During a conference at the Colonnade Coral Gables Autograph Collection hotel in Miami, lawyer Ralph Patino introduced the legal principle that the player “knew or should have known” the terms of the contract signed between the AFA and the company.

Although he clarified that Messi did not sign that agreement, he maintained that his role within the team links him to the obligations assumed.

“At the same time that he receives money from AFA for playing this game and he is practicing and it is part of the concentration of the game and the squad, Mr. Messi already knows that he has an obligation to play and if he doesn't know it he has to know it, then he is complicit in what he did between him and the AFA,” he said.

Along these lines, the lawyer also detailed the scope of the contract and the agreed conditions: “VID entered into a contract to promote four soccer games, two in October and two in June.” And he stressed: "The contract contemplated the presence of Messi as an active participant, he had to play 30 minutes of each game

.”

In addition, he explained the central reason for the legal action: “The contract as such had consequences in the absence of Messi. The reason for the lawsuit is to recover damages resulting from Messi's absence.”

The details of the contract with the AFA

Patino also pointed to the leadership of the AFA, led by the mobster Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, and described how the agreement would have been formed: “Javier Fernández (owner of VID Music Group) was told 'We know you're a music producer, but

we had a problem with an agreement in China where Messi was supposed to play there and the person who was going to promote that deal was going to pay 10 million dollars for each game. You have the opportunity to promote them for $5 million per game

. '”

Then, he added: "Mr. Fernández and his team thought about what they wanted to do and started talking to Mr. Chiqui Tapia because the ambassador organized the talks.”

On that point, he elaborated: "Chiqui Tapia said: 'We are going to offer them two games at 3.5 million dollars each, two games in October and two games at 5 million each in June'. There was a period of 45 days between Mr. Fernández's first conversation and the first game. A period of 45 days. We believe that it was part of the plan that Mr. Chiqui Tapia and his team had

devised.”

“The plan was to get a music producer to invest millions of dollars in the games. The plan was 'Let's give him 45 days to do marketing, to get out all the promotional material. Do everything, take care of the broadcast, do everything I had to do, and we're going to keep your money, '

” he concluded.

The origin of the complaint

La Causa originated from the tour that the Argentine National Team carried out in October 2025 in the United States.

The producer VID Music Group claims to have paid about 7 million dollars for the rights of the friendly matches against Venezuela and Puerto Rico, on the condition that Messi will play for at least half an hour in each match, barring injury.

However, the striker did not play against Venezuela and watched the game from a stage. According to the company, he was not injured, as the next day he participated with Inter Miami and scored two goals against Atlanta United.

Cargando tweet...

In addition, the firm maintains that it suffered additional losses due to the transfer of the game against the Puerto Ricans from Chicago to a smaller stadium in Fort Lauderdale, and that the AFA failed to comply with an alleged compensation through friendly matches in China scheduled for 2026

.

The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, accuses the AFA of fraud and breach of contract and could set a precedent in international soccer.