Lionel Messi finally got his MLS Cup with Inter Miami, but the Herons will face an offseason full of change as they look to defend the trophy
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The lasting image of Inter Miami’s triumph over Vancouver Whitecaps was that of Lionel Messi, facing the fans, arms raised, finally celebrating with a stadium that had waited so long for this.
Yet that is not the most important. There will, in all likelihood, be more Messi moments of that ilk. He has 48 trophies and counting. For Miami, the most telling picture was that of Jordi Alba, lying on his back, sobbing as the third Miami goal went in. That was a moment of total catharsis for a player who knew that his time was up – and had ended the right way.
Miami were excellent Saturday evening, and the Messi narrative simply cannot be ignored. He has been in South Florida for almost three years now, and finally claimed his first MLS Cup. Yet this also felt like the changing of the guard. Alba will now retire. Sergio Busquets, too, is hanging up his boots. Luis Suarez did not play, and there is little indication that he will return with his contract up.
This, then, was the last moment of Messi’s Miami 1.0. And it ended in the storybook way. But now, a restructure – not a rebuild – has to begin in South Beach.
“I know what it means to [Busquets and Alba] to leave this way,” manager Javier Mascherano said. "Two players have made history at this club, have completely transformed it along with Leo. Today they are part of the great history of this club, which is very short, very small, but that's what they came for, to change the course of this club."
Getty Images Sport'The efficiency of Leo'
After the match, Mascherano called it “the efficiency of Leo.” He has a point. Zoom out, consider the variables, analyze the game and Miami shouldn’t necessarily have won here. Every conventional stat, the flow of the game, the vibe of the place, the groundswell of momentum that comes from one team steadily beating another pointed towards a Vancouver victory.
Even when took an early lead, the Whitecaps had a true foothold. And from the 15th to the 66th minute, they dominated. When Emmanuel Sabbi pinged a shot off both posts and out midway through the second half – with the game knotted at 1-1 – a Vancouver winner felt far more likely than a late Messi burst.
But this is the genre of the Argentine you get these days. He was sparsely involved, yet the main man throughout. He pressed off the ball and was clinical when he had it. Messi registered 45 touches in 97 minutes, and, in truth, seven of them really mattered – four to dribble, three to deliver either an assist or a key pass leading to a goal.
“He was making a big effort in the last two, three, four games, pressing. It showed us how important it is for him to win,” Mascherano said.
It was two mistakes, really, that undid Vancouver. First was Edier Ocampo turning the ball into his own net off a Tadeo Allende cross. Next was a slightly overzealous dribble from Andres Cubas into midfield. Messi pinched it, shimmied, and fed Rodrigo De Paul to make it 2-1. Miami’s late third came because Vancouver simply overcommitted. Messi refused to lose. It was as simple as that.
"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," Messi said.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'The kind of luck you need'
Yet this felt key for Mascherano, too. This had been a long season for the Argentine – 78 games across four major competitions. By all indications, the vibes around Miami are, generally, pretty good. He gets along with Messi mostly by “giving him ideas” and getting out of the way. He was quick to point out that Messi was pressing and running off the ball not because he was asked; rather, he just wanted to.
Messi holds the cards in Miami. But if they had lost this final, there might have been noise for the manager to go. There are plenty of good coaches out there, and Messi, 39 next summer, has a limited window – even if he did pen a three-year deal. This was the final moment of the first edition of this project. Mascherano probably couldn’t fumble it.
The good news, from his point of view? He navigated it wonderfully. Miami, even when they were under pressure, never truly cracked. He admitted that they had perhaps enjoyed a stroke of luck by seeing a shot ping off the post. But otherwise, Mascherano said, this was the performance of champions.
"We knew it would be a very difficult game, and they had a shot bounce off two posts, but that is the kind of luck you need to win a championship," he outlined.
And after his press conference was interrupted by his players, drenching him in beer, it’s hard to disagree.
Getty Images Sport'I know it’s my last game'
Alba was a mess at full time. This wonderful springing Spaniard has always had a grit about him, but also a real steel. He is, to be sure, a passionate player, but not an entirely emotional one.
On Saturday, he finally broke. The tears started before half time and continued long after. So much of the rhetoric around his and Busquets’ retirement has been that of “focus.” They wanted to go out with a win. Alba insisted as much in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s different because I know it’s my last game,” he said. “Of course it’s important – it’s a final – but it means even more for the club. No matter what happens, I’m leaving afterward. Hopefully, I can leave with a trophy. Busi is in the same situation as me. I don’t know how I’ll process it because you only feel those emotions in the moment. My last game with Barcelona was very emotional, but this isn’t just changing teams – it’s not playing anymore, and that makes it even bigger.”
Busquets had his moment, too. He was less emotional. In fairness, Alba probably has a bit of football left. Busquets, in MLS, is well past his best. Parts of the second half of the 2025 season were hard to watch; this great statesman of the game was steadily losing his legs. There were some lovely flashes Saturday evening of the player that once was – a couple of hard challenges on Thomas Muller, the impossible passes and swivels of the hips to find a searching ball. But otherwise, this was the last dregs of a footballer.
Suarez is a more curious case. He has not announced anything, even though his contract is up. And such is the intensity of the control around Miami’s public messaging that no one really knows what’s next for him. A few months back, Jorge Mas insisted that he could stick around for as long as he wanted. Right now, it’s unclear if he should. Suarez lost his spot in the XI in the tail end of the playoffs, and Miami were quite irrefutably better for it. He cannot be guaranteed minutes here. Yet, this is also a player who probably should have retired on three separate occasions in his career, only to come back and be productive. It will be interesting to see what he, and Miami, decide.
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Getty Images SportA winter of change
The good news for Miami here is that there is flexibility in the way there wasn’t before. Busquets’ contract is off the books. So too is Alba’s. There is an assumption that Rodrigo De Paul – who was excellent in Saturday’s final – will take up a designated player slot alongside Messi.
The Herons could also see any number of players depart. There is a word here in which Miami lose two stars in Busquets and Alba and two starters in Allende, Maxi Falcon. If Suarez leaves and Benjamin Cremaschi – on loan at Parma after falling out with Macherano – also bolts, Miami have spots to fill and money to spend.
What, exactly, that looks like is hard to determine. There will undoubtedly be the temptation to swing big on a former European superstar. Neymar rumors will not go away. According to Angel Di Maria, Messi would love to unite with the Argentina star in South Beach in the future.
A smarter club would realize that it would do better to spend big on an elite central defender or defensive midfielder. Yet, with Miami being led by ambitious owners like Jorge Mas and David Beckham, the club has often focused the majority of its resources on big names as opposed to inteligent signings on the transfer market.
Either way, change is coming. Miami have money to spend and a trophy to defend. Normally, champions don’t need to overhaul too much. But here, Miami face an uncertain – and incredibly important – offseason.
Miami 1.0 ended with a trophy. Miami 2.0 begins with hope, and no shortage of questions.