With all the buzz about the impending arrival of Messi the Messiah to Inter Miami, it is easy to overlook the harsh reality: the MLS team Lionel Messi is about to join has been stuck in last place in the Eastern Conference for weeks.
This will be uncharted waters for the Argentine star, who has spent his entire career playing for some of the best teams in the world alongside legendary teammates.
Inter Miami has five wins, 12 losses and no ties at the midpoint of the season and last weekend tied a team record with a sixth consecutive loss. The team has scored just 16 goals all season, fewer than one per game and second fewest in the conference.
Phil Neville was fired as head coach on June 1, and the losing streak stretched two more games under interim coach Javi Morales, suggesting that the team’s troubles run deeper than the coach. The search is on now for the club’s third coach in four years, with Tata Martino as a leading candidate. He led Atlanta United to an MLS Cup in 2018 and coached Messi at Barcelona and with the Argentina national team.
Now in its fourth season, Inter Miami continues to be a team in flux with huge dreams but a revolving roster that has never had a chance to gain a foothold.
The club has been operating under severe salary restrictions the past two seasons as punishment for salary cap violations related to the 2020 signing of Blaise Matuidi, who has long since left the team.
The midfield was decimated early this season by injuries to captain Gregore, out six months after foot surgery, and Jean Mota, out four to six months after knee surgery. Tuesday night, the team announced that Coco Jean will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear. Two local teenagers, 18-year-old Benja Cremaschi of Key Biscayne and 19-year-old David Ruiz of Little Havana, have had to step into starting roles.
Meanwhile, the forward partnership of Josef Martinez and Leo Campana has not been as prolific as expected. Martinez, the 2018 MLS MVP, showed up out of shape. Campana missed the first six games with a calf injury. The pair has combined for seven goals and two assists through 17 games.
Hopeful they could land Messi this summer, the club left one designated spot (and the No. 10 jersey) open for him, and resisted spending big money on other players.
Well, they got their man. They reeled in the biggest whale of a catch in MLS history.
But as incredible as Messi is, and there is no arguing the Argentine World Cup champion is a generational gem of a player, he cannot turn this team around by himself. Word from reliable league sources is that Messi might end up with one, or maybe even two, of his former FC Barcelona teammates at his side.
Defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets, one of the greatest ever to play that position, has been on the Inter Miami wish list for years and the two sides are in serious negotiations. The 34-year-old Spaniard just left Barca after 18 years at the club.
Left back Jordi Alba, another 34-year-old Spaniard regarded as one of the best of his generation at his spot, is also looking for a new club after a tearful farewell from Barcelona. According to soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano, Alba is in discussions with Miami and a few Saudi teams.
Argentine winger Angel DiMaria just left Juventus and is rumored to be interested in joining Messi, and Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez, now with Brazilian club Gremio, continues to be linked to Miami.
It all makes for great conversation, but is it plausible? MLS has some of the strictest and most complicated salary and roster rules in the world. There are designated players, young designated players, homegrown players, special discovery players and generation adidas players.
There is targeted allocation money (TAM), general allocation money (GAM), and buy downs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We won’t bore you with details. Suffice it to say that the current MLS team salary budget is $5.2 million, and each team can have three designated players to whom it can pay whatever it wants.
Messi will be a DP and is expected to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with an option for 2026. He will earn $50 million to $60 million per year in salary, bonuses and as a team shareholder. According to sources familiar with his offer, he is working on additional lucrative deals with MLS sponsors Apple and Adidas based on his influence on sales of streaming subscriptions and jersey sales.
In order to make room for Messi, Inter Miami must unload one of its three existing DPs: Gregore, midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro or Campana. The club could buy down Gregore’s or Campana’s salary cap charge with allocation money to create more budget space and keep the two players on the roster. Another option is to buy out Pizarro’s contract, as he is signed only through this season.
If Messi’s friends truly are in the plans, then surely at least another DP spot will have to open up. Busquets, Alba, di Maria and Suarez all make more per season than the entire MLS team salary budget, so adding one or two of them to the Miami roster would require creative financing.
According to a league source, the team is hoping to help subsidize summer signings by shopping the highest-paid backups. Goalkeeper Nick Marsman ($474,996), Victor Ulloa ($250,000) and Robbie Robinson ($200,000) fit that category.
Martinez, the highest-paid player on Miami’s roster, could also end up part of a trade. He has a base salary of $4 million this season, most of which is paid for by Atlanta as part of his departure deal with that club. He is classified as a “targeted allocation money” player for Miami ($651,250 to $1.65 million) and would likely draw interest from other teams.
Time will tell how this all plays out, but this much is certain: This is Messi’s team now. Messi FC. And it’s going to be an interesting ride. Buckle your pink and black seat belts.
