Two international stars will be on Major League Soccer’s biggest stage when Lionel Messi and Inter Miami host Thomas Muller and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday in the MLS Cup Final in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Both clubs will be aiming for their first MLS title, with the opportunity to lift the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy.
Messi is almost certain to win a second consecutive MLS MVP after scoring 29 goals and assisting 19 others in the regular season. But Saturday was also the realization of the vision that convinced Messi to move to MLS in the summer of 2023.
In addition to a lucrative contract and numerous new American marketing opportunities, joining Inter Miami also created a club built in his image.
First there were his former FC Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and later Luis Suarez who joined the Herons. Then this summer, Messi’s national team colleague Rodrigo De Paul left Atletico Madrid. Promising teenager Mateo Silvetti has been loaned out by Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club in Argentina.
Just before the start of the playoffs, Messi and Inter Miami announced a three-year contract extension that will see him retire to MLS.
If the eight-time Ballon d’Or was exceptional in the playoffs, with six goals and seven assists in five matches, he admits a feeling of contentment.
“I’m really happy, aren’t I?” Messi spoke to ESPN Argentina, in Spanish. “Because it’s also special to play a final with this club. Even though we’ve already won a title, we played another final recently with the new club, so to speak, and now to be able to play the MLS Cup with all that it means for the club. Spectacular. So, I’m happy.”
Miami earned the right to host the final by finishing third overall in the Supporters’ Shield, two places ahead of Vancouver. If there’s one unfinished business, it’s against the Whitecaps, who dominated Miami in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals in April.
Vancouver won the match 5-1 on aggregate. The Whitecaps have also significantly improved their squad since then with the signing of Bayern Munich and German national team icon Muller.
Müller’s teams, with their club or country, have won seven of eight competitive matches against Messi and his teams. They also met twice in friendlies, both won by Messi and Argentina.
Muller and Germany not only got the better of Messi and Argentina with a 1-0 win in the 2014 World Cup final, but there was also a meeting in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals when Germany took a 4-0 win.
Vancouver forwards Ryan Gauld and Brian White will provide plenty of support for Muller on Saturday, while finally being healthy after battling injuries for much of the second half of the season.
Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen knows Miami is also better at this stage.
“I think they’re a little more balanced team than the last time we played them,” Sorensen said. “But look, it’s the MLS Cup final, and there should be some good players against you, and you should be playing a really good team.”
–Field level media
