For Inter Miami and Lionel Messi, a club-defining season awaits

Miami’s bid for domestic, continental, and global glory is over a decade in the making, but it must happen this year. Inter Miami begin the most important season in their short history with opportunity abound, but a narrowing window to capitalize on all the club has built towards. The club can win up to five trophies this year, and the journey towards two of them starts this week. Lionel Messi’s side begin their Concacaf Champions Cup campaign against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night, commencing a season when they will also compete in the 32-team Fifa Club World Cup, the MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup, while gunning for a repeat of last year’s Supporters’ Shield honor and a maiden MLS Cup triumph.

Miami remain the bookmakers’ favorites for the last of those, but there are reasons to bet against them as well. An MLS-record points tally wasn’t enough last season, as the team was bounced from the playoffs in the first round by Atlanta United. The conditions for success are less certain and more challenging entering 2025. The team has an inexperienced new head coach in Javier Mascherano, while the off-season also saw front office tumult. Most importantly, the team’s veteran megastars – Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba – are another year older and entering potentially the most demanding season an MLS club has ever faced.

At mid-season, Messi will be 38. Suárez, who contributed 21 goals and 10 assists in MLS play last term, just turned that age. The great midfield playmaker Busquets is 37 this summer, and full-back Alba is 36 in March. None of the former Barcelona quartet is signed beyond 2025, although the club expects Messi to remain for 2026. Be that as it may, this squad is assembled to win now. Of Mascherano, beginning his first job in club football having previously coached Argentina’s youth squads, instant success is required. He replaces the experienced and decorated coach Tata Martino, who stepped down in November.

“I’m not under pressure. I’m here trying to do my best, trying to help the players have success,” Mascherano told the Guardian. “It’s true that as a coach you need to see results, but we don’t analyse results, we analyse the game and how we play. I think the results are the consequence of what you do on the pitch. We are happy because we are doing the right things.”. Mascherano has a unique opportunity among coaches; he knows the key players innately, from inside the lines. He played at Barcelona for eight of Messi’s prime seasons. Likewise with Busquets. He played alongside Alba for six of those years and Suarez for four. Combining Barcelona and Argentina, Messi and Mascherano took the field together over 400 times.

“It’s not just about my relationship with Leo but also the relationship I have with the other three players because I played with them for a long time,” Mascherano said during his introduction. Miami will continue to make marquee signings when the fab four era ends – fielding stars is baked into the culture – but replacing the footballing telepathy crafted at the Nou Camp may be impossible. The opportunity to reunite those players was a one-off. Uniting them under a coach who was a huge part of that playing unit adds another layer of intrigue.

Miami’s other top talents from last season have moved on. The 21-year-old Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gómez joined Premier League side Brighton in December. His compatriot, winger Matías Rojas, 29, also departed after failing to agree an extension. Further roster depth and youth has arrived with winger Tadeo Allende, 25, signed on loan from Celta Vigo, bolstering the frontline. Defender Gonzalo Luján, 23, played for Argentina’s U-23 team under Mascherano. 21-year-old midfielder Telasco Segovia has eight caps for Venezuela.

Pre-season results have been good and, in training, players have reported a “different, younger energy” as compated to Tata Martino’s slower, old-school approach. Players are spending more time in the gym, and sessions are more intense and varied. Unsurprisingly, considering Mascherano’s long career as a prowling midfielder and then a centre-back, pre-season has seen greater focus on defensive solidarity, in-game organization, faster transitions from attack to defense, and winning personal duels.

“We know that we have the quality going forward,” midfielder Julian Gressel said. “If we can stop teams scoring, we know we’ll be able to score almost every game. Javier was a good center midfielder and then a defender, so he knows what it feels like. That certainly helps.”. Renewed defensive focus aside, much will probably depend on the availability of Messi. In 2024 he started only 15 regular-season games, as the Copa América and the ankle ligament damage suffered in the final denied Inter Miami his services for 14 weeks. Miami coped surprisingly well, as evidenced by the record points tally, but a repeated lengthy absence is unlikely to align with the club’s lofty goals.