Mascherano? Or Messi? Who decided Inter Miami's coach should resign? | OneFootball

El Jefecito -- "the Little Chief" -- is out at Inter Miami; did Big Chief Lionel Messi usher his coach, friend and former teammate out the door? Javier Mascherano, who led the Herons to their first MLS Cup title in his first season managing a professional club, surprised the soccer world Tuesday by announcing his resignation despite Miami losing just one of its first nine matches in 2026.

Mascherano said in a statement that his sudden departure was "for personal reasons," but many onlookers believe the team's early elimination from the Champions Cup and draws against mediocre competition in the first two matches at Nu Stadium led management -- or Messi -- to force a change. The fact that Mascherano's predecessor, Tata Martino, also resigned "for personal reasons" after guiding Los Garzas to the Supporters' Shield and an MLS single-season points record in 2024. That success was marred by a humiliating first-round playoff loss to underdog Atlanta United, which led many pundits to speculate that Martino's "personal reasons" started with Inter Miami's audaciously ambitious owners, Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham.

Atlanta United manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino, like Mascherano, resigned as Inter Miami coach 'for personal reasons' after a record-setting 2024 campaign. | Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages

Mascherano, 41, earned the nickname El Jefecito during a stellar playing career as one of the world's best defensive midfielders. He and Herons' captain Messi played together from 2010 to 2018 at Barcelona and even longer on the Argentine national team. When Mascherano was hired to replace Martino -- who also had ties to Messi -- it was widely believed he got the job because of his relationship with Messi.

Messi is clearly frustrated by how the season has started. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, also longtime Messi teammates at Barcelona before joining him in South Florida, retired after winning the MLS Cup in December, and Inter Miami is struggling to adjust to losing two irreplaceable players. To make matters worse, the players brought in to speed the transition have been...ineffective.

Plenty has been written in the past few days about Mascherano's resignation and its root cause. Most point fingers at the uber-competitive Messi -- Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote offered one of the most convincing arguments -- but some argue Masche's departure was a surprise to the Herons' management. Sports Illustrated's Ben Steiner offered three plausible explanations for Mascherano's resignation, but the truth is, we may never know why he left.

What do I think? I want to believe Mascherano left on his own terms and will resurface in MLS, Europe or South America with a club that will give him room and control to continue growing as a manager. I also want to believe that, despite his competitive nature, Messi would remain loyal to his friends.

And I absolutely believe managing Inter Miami isn't the dream job we might imagine. Best wishes to interim coach Guillermo Hoyos (yet another Messi ally) and whomever Los Garzas choose to lead the Pink's next chapter; they're going to need it.