Article by Ovidiu Ioanițoaia – Published Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 09:27 / Updated Wednesday, December 10, 2025 09:28
What seemed like the realm of fantasy happened: Inter Miami won the Major Soccer League for the first time after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the final, the team of the German Thomas Muller, the one with 503 matches for Bayern Munich and 131 for the national team.
As Inter's victory was mainly due to Leo Messi, with two assists in the final, the little Argentine became the most popular athlete in the history of the United States. As the first-ever soccer player placed at the top of the hierarchy, he surpassed two sacred monsters, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady.
To return to the opening sentence, why did no one, really no one, believe that Inter could triumph in the MSL? Because the specialists did not see it as the most valuable formation and because it did not have a winning CV. No tradition. When Messi crossed the ocean from Paris in July 2023, accepting Beckham's bid but rejecting Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal's $1.6 billion bid, he found a decent, if not bad, team. Last ranked in the Eastern Conference, the beating heart.
With Leo himself nearing the end of his career, having just turned 36 (on June 24), many doubted that he and Inter would perform. And the fact that Messi brought Busquets and Jordi Alba, his teammates and friends from Barcelona, to Miami strengthened that belief. He only took them to fill them with money, it was rumored. Inter seemed to be, or indeed was, a “cemetery of elephants”, Busquets being then 35 years old, and Alba 34. Moreover, both recently announced their retirement.
Leo Messi, with the MLS trophy, framed by Inter patrons Jorge and Jose Maas (left) and David Beckham / Photo: Imago
Although only two months later it won the Leagues Cup, an American-Mexican competition, even this inaugural success for the club did not save a team from mediocrity that, from 15th place, missed qualifying for the play-offs (1-8).
It was the moment when Messi called to his side the dashing Luis Suarez, his “brother from the cross” and the author of an exceptional season in Brazil, at Gremio Porto Alegre. Nicknamed the Cannibal, like Leo, he was born in 1987. With them, Inter claimed their second trophy, the Community Shield for the most points scored in a season, only to find themselves knocked out in the 1st round of the play-offs after Messi was injured.
In 2025, Tata Martino was replaced by Mascherano on the bench, and the new coach filled the locker room with 10 Argentines like him, most of them no names. Among them, Allende, Rodriguez and Silvetti became starters, especially Tadeo Allende, striker on loan from Celta Vigo. With a goal in the duel with Vancouver and with another 8 in 4 matches. For the good of the team, Allende turned “Cannibal” into a luxury reserve.
The acquisition of Rodrigo De Paul, 31 years old, Messi's “guardian angel” from the national team, but also, decisively, the brilliant evolution of Messi, were very important in the team's ascent, in its relaxation. As a wizard, as a grand master. Why not?, a genius, because Leo, who stubbornly does not age, has achieved a truly exceptional career: 35 goals and 25 assists, a record for MLS!
Obviously, at his age, Leo doesn't run like he used to. However, it delights, excites and amazes, through the quality of the passes. Some of which simply defy geometry, violate it. That's why the statement that Mesi no longer plays football with his feet, but with his head, that he dictates everything on the field, is increasingly used. It's not a figure of speech, it's reality.
In conclusion, I invite you to realize, realistically, that any comparison between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo favors the South American. If only because, simplifying, CR7 did not earn anything in 3 years spent in Saudi Arabia, although Al-Nassr is the richest club on the planet (budget 350 million dollars), while Inter Miami, with only 47 million, conquered America, seduced it. Especially thanks to Messi, reached the trophy number 48!
