A project that began two and a half years ago finally reached its peak as Inter Miami beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 to earn their first MLS Cup title in club history.
Inter Miami wouldn’t have reached these heights without its talisman, Lionel Messi.
When the World Cup winner signed with the Herons in the summer of 2023, the club was struggling in numerous ways. Not only were they near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but uninspiring play on the pitch made supporters unhappy and unwilling to follow a team that was, essentially, losing its wings.
In steps Messi, a man who came to America on a mission to conquer another continent. In a league that has allowed him to play freely, with some of his closest friends, and without the pressure of Europe’s top competitions, Messi looked rejuvenated and shows no sign of slowing down.
A Leagues Cup, a Supporters’ Shield, and now an MLS Cup later, it’s hard to imagine not just Inter Miami, but MLS, without him.
“Three years ago, I decided to come to MLS, and today we are MLS champions,” Messi told the media after the match.
“We reached the semifinals of the [Concacaf] Champions Cup. Last year we went out early in the league and were eliminated in the first round,” he continued.
“This year, winning MLS was one of our main objectives.”
Miami’s latest triumph adds another line to the Argentine’s resume, from winning the World Cup almost 4 years ago to becoming an 8-time Ballon d’Or winner. This recent MLS Cup win topped off a brilliant season for the 38-year-old.
Messi’s 2025 season was nothing short of dominant, appearing 49 times for the Men in Pink while racking up 26 assists and netting 43 goals, and, if rumors are anything to go by, on his way to winning his second Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award.
Set to turn 39 next June, his form is still up there with some of the best players in the world. Week after week, the ex-Barcelona man was continually the most dangerous player on the field.
His Inter Miami script began in 2023, when he carried a struggling side all the way to the Leagues Cup final, scoring and winning man of the match as he led the Herons to their first trophy in team history.
The next year, Messi continued to show his quality during the 2024 season, where Miami outpaced the rest of the league to earn the Supporters’ Shield. Though they would painfully fall short in the opening round of the playoffs, losing to Atlanta United, the Argentine and the club kept their eye on the one prize that eluded them.
“The team made a huge effort—it was a very long year, with many matches—and we were up to the task all season,” Messi said about the MLS Cup.
“This is the moment I had been waiting for, and that we, as a team, were waiting for. It’s very beautiful for all of us. They deserved it.”
While other players contributed to Miami’s Cup win, like Tadeo Allende, who went on a tear during the playoffs, scoring nine goals en route to the final, or 19-year-old Mateo “Toto” Silvetti, whose chemistry with Messi looked like he’d been playing with for years, there was always a common thread, with their recent good form.
Younger players look more confident playing with Messi. In games that would’ve been losses in previous years, in 2025, they felt winnable, thanks to some slight tactical tweaks by manager Javier Mascherano that put Messi at the center of Miami’s attacking nucleus.
At this stage, and age of his career, Messi didn’t need to prove anything. Yet, he kept raising the bar with every time he took the field for Miami, continuing to break records while earning silverware along the way.
That’s why it’s easy to look at Messi’s time in MLS as a success, both personally and financially.
The trophies, the world-class players willing to leave Europe to play alongside him, Inter Miami cracked the code, signing Messi. Now with an MLS Cup under its belt, and a hunger for even more, they are just beginning to reap the benefits.