Inter Miami: Built for Marketing, Not the Long Haul | OneFootball

Over the weekend, Inter Miami suffered their fourth defeat in five matches across all competitions, this time against Minnesota United. Head coach Javier Mascherano is under increasing pressure as a season once poised to establish the club among the region’s elite has now devolved into an MLS-Cup-or-bust scenario. The team looks old, depleted, and alarmingly devoid of heart.

It’s been a bad month for Inter Miami. And while one measly month may seem insignificant in contrast to the lengthy MLS season, when your core averages 36 years of age, every second matters.

It’s rare to find a top-tier soccer team whose primary stars are all over 33, and it’s even rarer for those players to have the stamina to carry a team into uncharted territory. With Inter Miami, the issue isn’t just age — it’s leadership, roster construction, and misallocated spending. Lionel Messi, in a critical contract year, is starting to appear visibly disheartened.

In the span of just a month, Miami’s season of promise has unraveled. A humbling exit in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps was followed by lifeless losses to FC Dallas and Minnesota United. A lone win against the New York Red Bulls offered only temporary relief.

One thing has remained consistent since signs of fatigue emerged in Miami’s CCC campaign: the club looks gassed, and doesn’t seem built for the long haul. According to club beat writer Franco Panizo, the cracks have been evident since the CCC quarterfinals.

“While the team is talented enough to compete at a high level, they are probably not good enough to be elite in terms of winning something right now,” Panzio said.

Panizo believes reinforcements are urgently needed. And while MLS fans clamor for teams to spend big, few have spent as much — or as erratically — as Inter Miami, raising questions about the club’s vision and blueprint for the future.

A Talented Roster That’s Short on Soul

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Looking at Inter Miami’s squad, one could argue it’s among the most talented in MLS on paper. But dig deeper, and troubling questions emerge about the quality of the signings and their return on investment.

Take Tomás Avilés: the young defender has shown flashes of quality, but far too inconsistently for his price tag. Once pegged as a future cornerstone, the 21-year-old center back has struggled with growing pains and recently lost his spot in the starting lineup. With his contract set to expire next season, Avilés has underdelivered for a team already known for a poor defense.

Then there’s Federico Redondo. Touted as one of Argentina’s brightest midfield prospects, the $8 million signing has yet to meet expectations. While he’s shown moderate ability, he has not asserted himself as a dominant MLS midfielder. Currently, he’s not even a top-10 player in his position in the league.

Tadeo Allende is another puzzling acquisition. Brought in with modest credentials from Argentina and La Liga, he started the season brightly with two goals but has since faded. His performances have been unremarkable, certainly not better than those of his predecessor, Robert Taylor, who was inexplicably traded from the team after his role was reduced last season. The move was particularly odd, as Taylor was the first player to truly click and connect with Messi when he first arrived.

Marcelo Weigandt has not convincingly filled the shoes of DeAndre Yedlin, and Óscar Ustari, despite being an upgrade over the now-sidelined Drake Callender, hasn’t solidified the defense. Callender, who captained the team in their defeat against FC Dallas, has mysteriously faded from the squad entirely, aside from a sporadic start here and there.

This “new” Argentine-influenced Inter Miami may have more technical talent, but it lacks the spirit the team had when Messi first arrived.

“Maybe they need to bench Luis Suárez and get a No, 9, but does that go with Messi’s line of thinking?” asks Panzio.

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Interesting question — what is Messi’s line of thinking? Messi has not spoken to the press in a major capacity since the Leagues Cup final. With the exception of an occasional brief post game interview, Messi has been largely silent when it comes to the press.

But make no mistake, his hand has been involved in many club decisions, from who is in major sporting roles like Raúl Sanllehí, to even the manager. Messi has reportedly been one of the main voices of opinion for Inter Miami off the field and away from the microphones.

And therein lies the crux of the problem: Like David Beckham’s early LA Galaxy years, Inter Miami is increasingly being run to suit Messi’s comfort rather than competitive balance.

The result? A team of big names and theoretical dominance, but with little MLS know-how and even less grit.

A Star Core Showing Its Age

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Messi remains the GOAT — there’s no argument there. But he’s fighting a losing battle on a team that’s failing to support him. Suárez, for all his experience, is visibly past his peak. Despite tallying two goals and six assists in nine MLS games, his body often betrays him. Strangely, Miami manager Javier Mascherano continues to leave him on the field longer than he can handle, exposing his limitations, especially his knee issues.

Jordi Alba has arguably been the most successful non-Messi signing, adapting to MLS and serving Messi well. But even Alba’s trademark runs and crosses are now predictable. Teams like Vancouver have successfully shut down Miami’s left-sided channels, stifling their creativity.

Sergio Busquets, though still a master passer, has slowed down dramatically. He nearly retired last season and it took some convincing to return, and while he’s shown glimpses of his former self, his ability to control matches has been compromised — especially with inconsistent help from Redondo and younger players not up to his standard.

Javier Mascherano: The Biggest Gamble

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When Gerardo “Tata” Martino stepped down as manager at the end of last season, Inter Miami quickly — perhaps too quickly — appointed Javier Mascherano as a replacement. At the time, Mascherano was under contract with the Argentine Football Association, but his poor showing at the U20 World Cup and Summer Olympics made him expendable. The AFA let him go without resistance and according to sources, with much relief.

Prominent Argentine journalist Martín Liberman has repeatedly said Mascherano was a “Messi hire,” suggesting the AFA was glad to let him walk if it kept Messi happy. Now at Inter Miami, Mascherano has shown flashes of tactical promise during the regular season, but major matches have exposed his inexperience.

Mascherano’s managerial résumé is limited, and his track record at the youth international level is middling at best. Still, he had Messi’s approval — and that was all that mattered.

For Panizo, the challenges are clear.

“It’s pretty much what people expected, a young head coach still cutting his teeth and managing egos,” Panzio said. “How do you keep players happy? Is [Mascherano] what this team needs? I would probably say no. Is he familiar with Messi and the other stars? Absolutely. But that doesn’t guarantee results.”

In a season where Inter Miami set their sights on the CCC, MLS Cup, and Club World Cup, the leadership — from Jorge Mas down — once again underestimated the demands of MLS and CONCACAF.

The hiring of Mascherano is a major head scratcher, especially for a team that needs to win now.

Can Inter Miami Right the Ship?

As with the LA Galaxy during Beckham’s early years, salvation may only come when Inter Miami accepts the reality of MLS: it takes more than stars. The team must blend elite talent with MLS-savvy players and a coach who commands respect beyond the locker room friendship circle.

Losing experienced MLS contributors like Yedlin, Taylor, and Julian Gressel — who notched nine assists last year — is difficult to justify. Inter Miami now fields a roster largely devoid of domestic experience and tactical fluency within the league’s structure. The over-reliance on an aging core is only countered by the youth of many players who are playing abroad for the first time in their careers.

Beckham eventually allowed Bruce Arena to build a winner in LA. He may now have to convince Messi that the team needs a manager — not a friend — and a squad that balances flair with familiarity.

With 2025 already looking like a “MLS-Cup-or-bust” year, the club must also begin planning for 2026. Most MLS sides are getting younger. Inter Miami is going in the opposite direction, anchored by aging stars in critical positions.

Convincing Messi to stay one more year is possible — but if Suárez remains the starting striker in 2026, the club may squander the twilight of the greatest player of all time on a failed experiment built on nostalgia and brand value.

It’s time for Inter Miami to take MLS seriously. Only then can this glitzy escape from European football evolve into the fairy tale that fans, the league, and Messi himself had hoped for.

Off the field, Messi and Inter Miami have both been an overwhelming success, but on the field, it has been a dismal failure of expectations for the greatest player of all time. Someone had to finally say it.