FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez will play their final regular season match in Major League Soccer together on Decision Day, Saturday, Oct. 18.
Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion, has a chance to lock up the MLS Golden Boot, and solidify his bid as the first MLS back-to-back MVP when Inter Miami travels to face Nashville SC at 6 p.m. ET at GEODIS Park. He’s still expected to sign a multi-year extension to remain with the club.
Busquets and Alba – the first former Barcelona stars to join Messi at Inter Miami in July 2023 and considered two of the best to play their positions all-time – announced they would retire at the end of this season.
Suárez, who became the 12th player in the sport’s history to score 600 goals last weekend against Atlanta United, said he wants to retire with Messi. It’s unclear if he’ll re-sign or retire as well.
Inter Miami won’t win the MLS Supporters’ Shield for the second consecutive season (the Philadelphia Union clinched it already). But winning the MLS Cup is the real prize in the American league.
It’s the only trophy that’s eluded Inter Miami since Messi joined in July 2023. And it could define their legacies in MLS – not their legendary careers, at least two MLS Apple TV analysts believe.
“You can’t assemble the Avengers, and not win MLS Cup,” two-time Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips said during a Decision Day press briefing this week. “I understand it’s very difficult to win it. And their time over here will still be filled with success. But as far as not winning a Cup or getting a ring, we’re going to judge that.”
“When I look back and reflect on Messi’s career, I’m not really going to think about did he win an MLS Cup or not. But his MLS legacy will absolutely be affected whether he wins an MLS Cup or not,” added Dax McCarty, who helped Atlanta United eliminate Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs last season in the most historic playoff upset in league history.
“No matter how you want to look at his time in Major League Soccer, if it ends without him winning an MLS Cup, he will have to be judged appropriately that way. If Messi is going to come to MLS and he is going to essentially get the pick of the litter of which former teammates he wants to bring over here, let’s be honest, it’s essentially a super team – even if they are on their last legs. You have to consider that.”
Kaylyn Kyle, who won bronze with the Canadian women’s national team at the London Olympics in 2012, pointed out Wright-Phillips and McCarty, who played in the third-most games (488) in MLS history, had not won MLS Cup. And it has not affected their MLS legacies.
“That’s fair. That’s professional sports. You get judged on that type of stuff,” McCarty said.
Kyle doesn’t believe it will affect Messi’s MLS legacy either.
“He’s going to be the first ever player to win MLS MVP in back-to-back seasons, and he’s going to win the Golden Boot this year. His legacy is not being ruined if he doesn’t lift an MLS Cup,” Kyle said.
Messi leads MLS with 26 goals, followed by LAFC’s Denis Bouanga with 24 and Nashville’s Sam Surridge with 23.
Messi has 18 assists, tied with San Diego’s Andres Dreyer for the league high.
Messi’s 44 total goal contributions are five shy of Carlos Vela’s single-season record of 49 in 2019 for LAFC.
Messi is joined by Dreyer, Bouanga, Cincinnati’s Evander and Surridge in the 2025 MVP race, amid his last ride with Suarez, Busquets and Alba under coach Javier Mascherano, who also played with them at Barcelona.
No team in the U.S. has played more matches than Inter Miami this season. The Nashville match will be No. 57, including preseason.
They have fallen short for three trophies already, losing in the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup in April, the Round of 16 in the FIFA Club World Cup in June and the 2025 Leagues Cup final in August.
Luckily, they’ll play one match per week throughout the postseason – however long it lasts for them.
“I don’t think that winning an MLS Cup or not will affect the legacy of Messi, Busquets, Alba, Suarez. I think I do look at this season as the last dance in a way. This is a big opportunity for these guys to go out on top,” said two-time MLS assist leader Sacha Kljestan.
“I’m not going to judge four legends of the game as to whether or not they can win an MLS Cup at the end of their careers. I think it’s been very fun to watch them all play this year. I’d be sad when they’re not there next season, but I’m also excited to see who else comes along to the Inter Miami party in the coming years. I think they’ve shown great ambition as the club to be one of the best in Major League soccer and it’s must-watch TV.”
Added McCarty: “At the end of the day, if you’re Lionel Messi and you’re supposed to win everything that you compete for. Yes, you’re going to be judged. Your time in Major League Soccer will be judged for it.”
