How Lionel Messi can extend his legacy with Inter Miami?

Messi-led Herons won the MLS Supporters’ Shield after finishing top of the table.

Although Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami have already won a trophy in 2024, taking home the Supporters’ Shield after dominating Major League Soccer’s regular-season standings, they still have more work to do to win the MLS Cup title.

With a 6-2 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday, in which Messi netted his first MLS hat-trick, they broke the season record and took the top spot in the standings with 74 points, the most ever by a team in MLS history.

MLS Supporters’ Shield winners, new record for most points in a single MLS season… and now we have to give our best for what is to come to fight for the MLS Cup. 💪🏻⚽️🦩 pic.twitter.com/cl29jt8DiV

— Jordi Alba (@JordiAlba) October 20, 2024

The side that wins the post-season play-offs, which start this week, will be the champion in Major League Soccer (MLS), as is the case in American sports in general, rather than the team that finishes first in the regular season standings.

This means that in the upcoming weeks, Messi and his fellow former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba—all of whom have been guided by former Barcelona and Argentina manager Tata Martino—will play their most important games as Inter Miami players.

Can Messi create more history with Inter Miami?

Columbus Crew, another Eastern Conference team that have garnered a lot of praise for their thrilling style of play under coach Wilfried Nancy, will probably be Inter Miami’s toughest opponents heading into the playoffs.

Los Angeles FC, the top team in the Western Conference, and LA Galaxy, which finished slightly below them on goal differential, might potentially pose a danger.

Each of these individuals will also compete for the league’s individual prizes. Nancy and Martino will fight for coach of the year, Messi and Cucho Hernandez, the former Watford attacker for the Crew, will compete for MVP, and Suarez or Gabriel Pec, the LA Galaxy’s outstanding Brazilian winger, will probably earn rookie of the year.

However, the Golden Boot winner has already been determined. Christian Benteke, a former attacker for Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace, won it. He has had a fantastic season with DC United, tallying 23 goals in 30 games.

Suarez continued his form from 2023, when he scored 17 goals in 33 games for Gremio and won Player of the Year in the Brazilian league, finishing with 20 goals from 27 appearances, tied with Messi as Inter Miami’s leading scorer.

With 20 goals and 10 assists in 19 appearances, Messi has been among the league’s most prolific players even though he only played slightly more than half of a season in 2024. He is the front-runner for MVP because of this and his greater significance.

His presence alone has helped the David Beckham-owned team, which entered the league in 2020, go from finishing 14th out of 15 Eastern Conference teams in 2023 (27th out of 29 teams overall) to breaking the normal season points mark in 2024.

Miami benefit from this outstanding regular-season performance as they enter the playoffs. Since they are the top seed, they will always have a home advantage. The MLS Cup final is held at the home of the team with the highest seed, which, if they advance that far, will be Miami’s Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

The regular-season title is now treated with greater respect as a result of Messi winning the Supporters’ Shield. Messi would have appreciated it, as would his old Barcelona teammates, who are accustomed to playing in a football culture where the league winner is the champion. However, they understand that this is a new experience and a different approach, and they want to be successful in this culture as well.

Whether they do or not will be determined in the upcoming weeks.

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