Lionel Messi has won just about everything in soccer, and he can now add the MLS Cup trophy to his accolades after leading Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Messi, along with fellow Inter Miami stars (fellow Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo De Paul and Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets), now become the first players to win a World Cup and an MLS Cup in their careers.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Messi Completes a Mission
Since the moment Messi arrived in South Florida in the summer of 2023 — a mere six months after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and cementing his legacy as the greatest player in soccer history — hoisting the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy as MLS champions has been his and the Herons’ top priority.
Miami sat dead last in the Eastern Conference standings when he landed in Fort Lauderdale, and although Messi delivered club owners David Beckham and Jorge and Jose Mas the inaugural Leagues Cup before ever playing a regular season match, the hole (plus an injury to the GOAT) was too deep to climb out of and qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Last year Messi & Co. won the Supporters Shield with a league-record points haul, but were stunned in the first round by Atlanta United. Early elimination in the Concacaf Champions Cup in early 2024 and 2025, a round of 16 exit in the FIFA Club World Cup and a Leagues Cup final loss in Seattle in August considerably upped the pressure to claim MLS Cup this fall, as did the impending retirements of former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
But Messi was on a mission this postseason. And as was the case in Qatar in 2022, he wouldn’t be denied again. Messi was the architect of both Miami goals on Saturday. It was his steal that put the hosts back ahead for good shortly after Vancouver stunned the sold-out crowd at Chase Stadium by equalizing early in the second half.
It felt Miami was always going to win in the end. Sure enough, Messi delivered when it mattered the most.
2. Miami’s Big-Star Approach Pays Off
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Some MLS owners’ excuse for not loosening the pursestrings when it comes to bolstering their rosters is that in parity-driven MLS, more dollars don’t guarantee success. Had Vancouver — historically among of the league’s most frugal organizations — upset Miami on Saturday, that thinking would’ve been further validated.
Miami’s triumph does the opposite. The Herons are the top MLS spenders by some distance. Rodrigo De Paul, Inter’s high-profile midseason addition and its other 2022 World Cup champion, scored the game-winner.
For a league that seems like it’s being dragged kicking and screaming into the big-time by its more ambitious benefactors, it was proof of concept and a warning to the other 29 teams: money always matters. On Saturday, it’s impossible to believe that it wasn’t the determining factor.
3. Attention Turns to Messi and the World Cup
Will he or won’t he? All signs point to Messi defending his World Cup title with Argentina next summer, when the U.S., Canada, and Mexico co-host the largest edition of the 48-team tournament. Messi recently said that he has “discussed it a lot” with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
Messi, who will turn 39 years old next summer, has represented La Albiceleste at five different World Cups and holds the all-time record for World Cup appearances (26), surpassing Germany’s Lothar Matthäus in 2022.
4. Valiant Vancouver Despite Loss
(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Although they fell short at the final hurdle and failed to repeat their success over Miami in Concacaf play earlier this year, Vancouver deserves a ton of plaudits for their remarkable 2025 season. A workmanlike squad filled with mostly with castoffs that rivals had discarded came within 90 minutes of becoming just the second MLS club to win the Concacaf title this century.
Vancouver signed Germany legend Thomas Müller from Bayern Munich, won yet another Canadian Championship and gave the much more well-heeled Herons everything they could handle on Saturday before Miami’s quality and home-field advantage eventually enabled them to pull away. Still, the Whitecaps made a statement this year. Its success elevated the likes of midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and defender Tristan Blackmon from uncapped MLS journeymen into contenders for the United States’ 2026 World Cup roster. It made them relevant in their city in a way few MLS teams are, even 30 years into the domestic circuit’s existence.
Now, hopefully, it can help secure their long-term future in Vancouver, which MLS Commissioner Don Garber expressed doubt about on the eve of the league’s championship. If that happens, then this dream season and even its losing MLS Cup appearance will be looked back as a win.
4 ½. What’s Next
It will be a fairly quick turnaround for the 2026 season, which will begin in February. But there will be plenty of key moments for both Miami and the league. The Herons will debut their new stadium later in the spring, and MLS will take a pause once the World Cup kicks off in the summer. This is the last full season under the spring-to-fall format before MLS shifts to a fall-to-spring calendar for 2027-28.
