Football Season Guide

2025 was finally the year that Inter Miami came up clutch when it mattered. The image of Lionel Messi lifting MLS Cup at the end of the season was the vision owner David Beckham had when he convinced the Argentine superstar to come to the club. The season wasn’t all plain sailing for the Herons. Javier Mascherano faced a series of challenges in his first stint as a head coach and there were points when it didn’t look like he was going to be the man for the job. A run of just one win in six league games and a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final was a particularly low point in late April/May. Another resounding defeat in the Leagues Cup final against Seattle and a failure to retain the Supporters’ Shield left Mascherano under immense pressure going into the play-offs. It was win or bust. Mascherano was strong-willed as a player and made some tough managerial decisions going into the post-season. Dropping star striker Luis Suárez was the biggest of them. It allowed Messi to play in a more central role and Mascherano realised that in order to get the best out of his biggest star, there needed to be fresher legs around him. Tadeo Allende became the unlikely hero of the play-offs with a new record of nine goals, and the emergence of youngster Matteo Silvetti meant that the attack wasn’t completely reliant on Messi. Messi is still the focal point of the team and ended the season with almost 50 goal contributions, which saw him become the first player in MLS history to win back-to-back MVP awards. Inter Miami also made sure that they’ll have the greatest player in history around for at least a couple more seasons after he signed a contract extension. Unfortunately for the club, they will no longer have two other legends. Jordi Alba and Sergi Busquets both retired after highly decorated careers. They have been the most significant departures of the off-season and it will be a hard task to replace them. Perhaps surprisingly, Suárez has not followed in the footsteps of his former Barcelona teammates and instead extended his stay in South Florida. Whether he can reclaim his place in the starting eleven is questionable and he will faced increased competition from new arrival Germán Berterame. The transfer strategy appears to have shifted slightly, with more of a focus on bringing in proven MLS players rather than ageing stars. Dayne St. Clair, Micael and David Ayala all arrive with experience of the league. The trio are also expected to bolster a defence that conceded 55 goals last season – a weakness that Mascherano was expected to address in 2025 but failed to. Miami can’t always expect just to outscore the opposition. Sergio Reguilón is the most high-profile arrival of the transfer window so far and will be hoping to rekindle his career after fading into obscurity in recent years. The left-back looked a real talent at Real Madrid and was the heir apparent to Alba for the Spanish national team, but injuries and loss of form have affected him. Still only 29-years-old, there is time for a redemption arc, but another knee problem could see him miss the start of the season. Having got the first championship under their belt, Inter Miami will now be looking to create a dynasty.