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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Jeff Rueter

Inter Miami’s Concacaf exit is a reminder that time rolls on for Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi sits on the grass during Inter Miami's Champions Cup match
Lionel Messi’s contract runs through 2028 with Miami. Photograph: Chris Arjoon/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Concacaf may not have the world’s most hallowed Champions League. The confederation is so aware of that fact that it rebranded the competition as a Champions Cup two years ago.

Nonetheless, winning the continental competition is the ultimate aim for MLS’s most ambitious clubs, even though (or perhaps because) only one of its last 25 installments has seen an MLS team crowned as Concacaf’s best. Liga MX continues to dominate the competition, boasting 21 winners since 2001, even as MLS improves. Even Costa Rica’s Liga Promerica has more titles since the turn of the century thanks to back-to-back victories for Alajuelense and Saprissa in the mid-2000s.

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