The official lineup for Lionel Messi’s annual “Battle of the Stars” charity match was announced June 11th at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

The highly anticipated “Messi and Friends vs. the Rest of the World” event presents European soccer fans the opportunity to witness the greatest soccer players in the world compete in the same arena. The actual match will take place at the Coliseum on July 3rd, at 7:30 pm.

Although Messi was originally scheduled to announce the official line-up himself via satellite, the man often considered the world's best player ended up cancelling the interview.

Messi’s promoter, Andres Barco, apologized on his behalf.

“I spoke to Messi earlier and he said that he is very sorry that he couldn’t be here with you all through Skype,” Barco said.

Barco explained that Messi was busy warming up for Argentina’s World Cup qualifying game against Ecuador, which took place just a few hours after the conference. 

Messi, named by Forbes Magazine this year as one of the Top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world, won FIFA’s Ballon d’Or, given to the world’s best player, for the third consecutive time this year. 

Although he wasn’t present at the conference, Messi did record a video inviting all of his fans to the game. 

“[Come] and experience a memorable game with the best stars from around the world!" he said in the video.

Barco, along with promoters from ESPN, announced the eagerly-awaited official line-up for the friendly match. 

The all-star line-up this year will include 28 of the world’s top soccer players from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, Columbia, and Mexico.

In this anticipated match, Messi will play alongside his FC Barcelona teammates Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Cesc Fábregas, Sergio Busquets, and José Manuel Pinto. Other players on the “Messi and Friends” side include Eric Abidal, Pablo Aimar, Marek Hamsik, Álvaro Pereira and Walter Gargano.

The rest of the dominant athletes playing on “The Rest of the World” squad include Robinho, Robert Lewandowski, Jonathan and Giovani dos Santos, Emiliano Insúa, Jesus Corona, Sergio Agüero, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gerardo Torrado, James Rodriguez and Antonio Cassano.   

Barco received questions from more than 30 news outlets. 

When asked why the lineup did not include players from the United States-despite the fact that this is the first time the game is played in Los Angeles, Barco’s response was vague. 

“Messi invited his closest friends to play along his side,” he said. “Some of them have other commitments or have yet to respond. We have yet to confirm a few of the players left. We might have a couple of surprises.”

Another question was popular among the news outlets: why Los Angeles?

ESPN’s promoter, Yani Camarena, interjected by joking, “Isn’t it obvious?”

Barco responded by saying that the Messi owed it to the fans. 

“We came here because of the large population of Hispanics that live in the city,” he said. “It is clear that Messi and the players have wanted to come here for a long time. We are now making that dream happen.”

This year will mark the third year Messi organizes the charity match. The proceeds will be donated to the Leo Messi Foundation, a non-profit providing underprivileged children in Argentina and Spain access to education and health care.

“As you all know, giving back to his community has always been a priority to Messi…he is personally affected by this,” said Barco. 

Messi was diagnosed with a hormone growth deficiency at the age of 11, and the director of FC Barcelona offered to pay his medical bills if he agreed to sign onto the club’s youth academy. 

“This is a great way to donate for a cause that will help many and at the same time provide one of the most exciting games of the year,” Barco said. 

Tickets are currently available on Ticketmaster.

Staff Writer Astrid Solórzano can be reached here or you can follow her on Twitter.