FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi’s legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He had won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies and was widely regarded as the greatest player in the history of the sport.
He didn’t need it an MLS Cup.
But he wanted one – and he got it.
Messi and Inter Miami completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the MLS Cup final on Saturday for the franchise’s first championship. It came 2 1/2 years after the legend arrived in South Floridaa move that surprised many spectators at the time.
“They said soccer would never make it in America,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said at the awards ceremony. “Inter Miami fans, did football make it?”
That also happened in South Florida, thanks to Messi. He set up the title goal with a 72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, a move that saw Messi steal the ball and throw a pass through a small gap in a wall of Vancouver defenders. De Paul caught him on the foot, pushed him into the far corner of the net – and Messi took to the air only to jump into his arms a few seconds later, all smiles.
And as the final minutes ticked away, Inter Miami’s pink-clad fans – most of them with Messi’s No. 10 on their backs – stood and stomped and cheered. South Florida has seen NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and NHL titles in the past.
It is now also a football city. Messi made that possible. Tadeo Allende scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time — of course on a new assist from Messi – to make it 3-1. And when Messi lifted the trophy surrounded by his teammates, confetti rained and fireworks rang out.
Inter Miami became the 16th franchise in the league’s 30-year history to win an MLS title. And this extends parity for the MLS, where five different franchises have won championships in the last five years and eight franchises have claimed a title in the last nine seasons – only Columbus has won twice in that span.
It was also the culmination of a 12-year odyssey for David Beckham, part of the Inter Miami ownership group.
He retired as a player in 2013 and his MLS contract stated that he could start a franchise at a reduced rate if his career ended. Beckham chose Miami and it took him years to finally get there; It wasn’t until January 2018 that the franchise was formally born, after teaming up with Miami businessmen Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, and even then the team had no stadium plan.
The team started play in 2020 and Messi arrived midway through the 2023 season. Inter Miami was ranked last in MLS at the time.
And then came Messi. The team in last place now leads the league.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” said Beckham.
The trophy is Messi’s 47th for club and country, adding to his global record in men’s football. Some say it’s even 48, because MLS also awards a trophy for winning conference titles. He has now won at least 21 titles in one-match final situations, many of them with the core of this team: Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano, his old teammates at Barcelona.
Busquets and Alba retired and were allowed to go out as champions. Suarez’s future is uncertain. Mascherano is now the coach, someone who changed Inter Miami’s lineup and tactics mid-season – his first in charge of the club – with this moment in mind.
And the 38-year-old Messi, the 2024 MLS MVP who looks set to win the award again this season, is still like no other in the biggest moments with a contract that could let him play with Miami until his early 40s. When next season starts, the team will play in a new stadium near Miami International Airport with a back-to-back title in mind.
“He’s not just here to enjoy life in Miami,” Beckham said. “His wife and the kids love Miami, but he came here to win, and that’s really what Leo stands for. He wants to win. He has that dedication, the loyalty he shows to his teammates, to the city, to the club. Leo is a winner. It’s that simple.”
Inter Miami took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute with an own goal, before Vancouver equalized in the 60th minute with an Ali Ahmed goal. Another Vancouver shot hit both posts about two minutes later but stayed out, and Inter Miami took the lead for good when Messi found De Paul.
And not long after the final whistle, Messi walked to the Inter Miami supporters’ section and threw both hands in the air. It was a moment 2 1/2 years in the making.
