When Lionel Messi failed to show up for this weekend’s game, fans who had shelled out “exorbitant amounts” to watch him play were incensed.

With 11 goals in 11 games since his high-profile transfer to Inter Miami this summer, the superstar striker, 36, has dominated the MLS.

2Lionel Messi missed Inter Miami’s trip to Atlanta UnitedCredit: Getty

Supporters and A-list celebrities alike pay hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, for tickets to games to see the hero in action.

Those who spent a lot of money, however, showed their disappointment when it became evident he wouldn’t play for his new team’s away game against Atlanta United last night.

Messi did not even travel to Georgia, let alone play on the synthetic field at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

This is due to the fact that he had just returned from serving with Argentina’s national team, where he had missed the Bolivia game and had left the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador early, but had nonetheless taken his place on the world winners’ bench as an assistant manager.

While claiming that Messi is “fine” and trained on Friday, Inter Miami manager Gerardo Martino was obviously ill-prepared to risk him.

And David Beckham’s team suffered a 5-2 defeat, which came back to haunt the manager.

But the absence of Messi irked fans more than the outcome, despite the fact that many of them had traveled great distances.

“Messi choosing not to travel to Atlanta and missing his first game in the MLS at the event I paid an exorbitant amount to get tickets for is a really bad beat,” one person exclaimed.

“Learning experience for me,” another person wrote. The tickets for this game cost a lot of money. One of my least favorite sports is soccer.

“I spent $750 (£605) for two tickets to watch Messi for the first time in my life, but he didn’t travel,” a third person said.

Another said, “My sister sold her ticket so fast when she found out Messi wasn’t playing.”

Finally, a user vented his ire: “Flights, hotel, scalped tickets… And he’s not having fun!”

Messi remained back in Miami as his teammates were in Atlanta finalizing their preparations, which led to resale tickets for the sold-out game being offered for as cheap as £32.

And on Saturday, he saw his son Thiago play with the Inter Miami academy while recuperating from his contentious pizza on Friday night.

2The Argentine sat out the World Cup qualifier win over BoliviaCredit: Getty