On that night when Inter Miami offered goodbye to the Conacakaf Champions League in a hard way by the hand of Vancouver Whitecaps, the scene appeared according to Athletic, as if it were an inevitable shock for a team that was flying on the clouds from the moment in which Lionel Messi arrived. The loss of 3-1 at home was not just a fall in a game.
Just two years ago, when Messi was presented in the Miami Pink T -shirt, some questioned the success criterion in this new phase of his life and the ceiling of aspirations in the American League. At that time, Jorge Mas, owner of the club, said, without skeptical security: we succeeded.
For him, Messi and Sergio Busquets and the adhesion of other players later a victory in itself. He was not wrong. Masses in Miami made the American League a story of which the world speaks, from New York to San Paolo. The stadiums have been filled, the shirts were sold in number and the returns doubled, so that the shirt Messi became the best sale in the history of Adidas in all sports. But football in its essence is not only measured by noise, but with cups.
The coach Javier Mascherano, who received the mission this season to succeed Tata Martino, did not hide behind apologies. He stopped after the loss and said it simply: we must accept that they were better than us. That’s why I’m in the final and we don’t do it.
It was not the first time that the team was harassed at home in the direct elimination phase, as it was preceded by a fall against Atlanta in the championship. Seven titles were available since Messi arrived, the team won only two: the 2023 championships and the 2024 of the fans. The most important tournaments, the Concacaf Champions League, are still far from the reach of the Argentine star.
The truth is that the team is silent and, with the progress of its main stars, the challenges appear more clearly. Suarez, who was a door car at the beginning of his American experience, was not marked in nine consecutive games. Despite his magical passages and his brilliant touches, he sometimes seems to be in a system that does not always help him. As for Busquets and Alba, they offer quality and experience, but with bodies exhausted by time. While the Club World Cup approaches this summer, Miami finds himself in a race with time to reorganize his ranks.
In recent months, almost everything has changed inside the club. Tata Martino, sports director Chris Henderson, left in Atlanta, followed by the resignation of Raul Sanii by his executive role, then Guilitomo Hayyus, who is close to Messi, entered to supervise the sports project. Several agreements have been concluded and more than half of the previous team has remained. The method has also changed, since the team depends on 4-2-3-1, in an attempt to balance. However, the team is still looking for its identity.
Despite the changes, the construction operations are not yet over. Before closing the transfer window, new offers were made and a space was evacuated in the list. Julian Greesh has gone and Robert Taylor moved to Austin, who provided financial flexibility and summer agreements. With the availability of over three million dollars of allocation funds, the club has already started to contract with new players, including Tasar Rodriguez and Eline Obando, on loan. But the need is still in place, especially in the left wing and in the heart of the defense.
Looking forward is less important. With the approach of 2026, Messi should sign his contract to stay in Miami until the new stadium is opened. That extension raises questions about the future of his three friends. Alba, who performed excellent last season and was part of the ideal team for the League, could face a conditional renewal. As for Busquets, which will reach the thirty seventies, keeping it as a dedicated player questioned the balance between technical value and cost. And Suarez, despite his profound friendship with Messi, seems to be to a crossroads, since his level decreases and old age.
All these decisions are sensitive, since these four are not only players, but symbols that have made part of the modern legend of the club. On the other hand, the sound of logic has started to rise, asking for new blood capable of keeping up with the ambition of the project you put, which is tall by Miami in the world.
In the end, it remains a championship here or there as a satisfactory prize, but the story that began with a pink logo and a shirt with the number 10 is still writing its chapters. Put to Miami was an emotional and historical victory, but he had to translate into the field. And time, as everyone knows, does not wait.
