SAN JOSE – The greatest soccer player of all time is set to play in San Jose this season.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will play at PayPal Park on May 14 in the highlight of the Quakes’ schedule, released by MLS Thursday. It will be the Argentine legend’s first game in the Bay Area since joining Major League Soccer in July 2023.
“I think it’s going to be great for the whole Bay, and San Jose, to be able to see him,” Earthquakes president Jared Shawlee told the Bay Area News Group.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2024 MLS MVP scored 21 goals in 25 appearances for Miami last season and has scored 749 goals in 924 career matches.
Because this is the last year of Messi’s MLS contract, it could be the only chance Bay Area fans have of watching him play in person.
Demand for tickets are expected to be sky-high, which begs the question as to why the game is scheduled to be at 18,000-seat PayPal, rather than Levi’s Stadium (68,500) or even Stanford Stadium (50,424).
The team’s president said that Stanford and Levi’s Stadium already have signature games and the team wanted PayPal to get its own moment in the spotlight.
“I think it can be one of the great games in the stadium’s history,” Shawlee said. “We’re obviously going to have a packed crowd for it.”
Here are a few other big games Earthquakes fans can be excited about:
Feb. 22: Real Salt Lake at PayPal Park
The Earthquakes will open their season at home in the first game of the Bruce Arena era. The team is coming off a dismal 2024, going a league-worst 6-3-25 (21 points).
However, the team’s president has promised that the notoriously frugal owner John Fisher is open to making signings at the behest of Arena and general manager Chris Leitch.
“It’s going to be up to Bruce and Chris to follow the plan that they’ve laid out to improve the roster and team, and I think the whole organization and ownership are very supportive of that plan,” Shawlee said.
On Wednesday afternoon, the team brought back hometown favorite Nick Lima, who played for the Earthquakes from 2017-2020, and plied his trade for Austin FC and New England since.
Lima is an East Bay native who was a prep star at both soccer and football for Castro Valley High School.
April 6: D.C. United at PayPal Park
(Left to right) The San Jose Earthquakes’ Chris Leitch, general manager, Bruce Arena, new head coach, and Jared Shawlee, president, stand for pictures after a press conference at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
This is the 30-year anniversary of the Earthquakes’ first MLS game. On that day in 1996 – a 1-0 San Jose victory – Arena was leading DC United. Nowadays, the former USMNT coach and MLS stalwart will be leading the Earthquakes.
The 73-year-old will be heavily involved in the front-office decision-making process, and management hopes that his decades of experience can help lead San Jose out of the cellar.
“Having Bruce join us has been a great shot of energy to the whole organization,” Shawlee said. “He’s building us a great roster.”
June 28: LA Galaxy at Stanford
Sept. 13: LAFC at Levi’s Stadium
Messi may not be playing in a big stadium, but the Earthquakes will take on a couple of SoCal opponents in larger venues.
The California Clasico returns to Stanford Stadium, a game the Galaxy won 3-0 last season. The Earthquakes outshot Los Angeles 18 to 14, but were outpossessed 63% to 37%.
On Sept. 13, Levi’s Stadium will host the team’s Mexican Independence Day game against LAFC. That game drew 45,000 fans last season, and Shawlee expects even larger crowds in 2025.
“In back-to-back years we’ve got 40,000 for each of those matches, and hopefully those games can go even higher this year because we’re going to have great opponents again,” Shawlee said.
Aug. 17: San Diego FC at PayPal Park
San Jose Earthquakes winger Cristian Espinoza (10) should be a top player for the team in 2025 (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Messi isn’t the only wildly popular star making his first appearance in the Bay Area for an MLS team. Mexican superstar Chucky Lozano, a regular on the country’s national team, has been a standout for Pachuca, PSV and Napoli.
San Diego FC signed the winger ahead of the team’s inaugural season in 2025, and will play its first match in NorCal on Aug. 17.
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The hype around Lozano’s appearance and the schedule as a whole is something Shawlee hopes sustains itself past 2025.
After all, the Bay Area is hosting World Cup games in 2026. As the region’s MLS team, the Shawlee wants the Quakes to show the Bay Area’s passion for the world’s most popular game.
“We’re doing everything with an eye on 2026 and the World Cup,” Shawlee said. “We’re super excited to be part of the ecosystem that is bringing that to the Bay Area.”
