MLS

Lionel Messi-led MLS club Inter Miami officially announced the hiring of Javier Mascherano as head coach on Tuesday.

Inter Miami noted that Mascherano signed a contract that will run through the 2027 MLS season, and Mascherano said the following about accepting the job:

"To be able to lead a club like Inter Miami is an honor for me, and a privilege I will strive to make the most of. I was drawn to the organization's undeniable ambition, and the infrastructure it has to support it. I'm looking forward to working with the people at Inter Miami to help the club reach new heights, and to give the fans more unforgettable moments."

Inter Miami's head coaching position became available last week when previous head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino left the club due to personal reasons.

Mascherano, 40, began his managerial career in 2021 with Argentina's Under-20 and Under-23 national teams. That included coaching the Argentinian men's soccer team at the 2024 Summer Olympics where they were eliminated by host France in the quarterfinals.

Before becoming a coach, Mascherano enjoyed a highly successful playing career from 2003 to 2020, spending time with multiple major clubs, including Barcelona, Liverpool and Corinthians.

Mascherano had his longest run at Barca, appearing in 203 matches. For all eight of his seasons at Barcelona, Mascherano was teammates with Messi.

Together, they won five La Liga titles and a pair of UEFA Champions League titles, as well as numerous other trophies.

Mascherano and Messi were also teammates on the Argentinian national team for 13 years, and they won an Olympic gold medal together in 2008.

Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer of The Athletic reported last week that Mascherano was expected to be named the next head coach at Inter Miami, and they noted that he and Messi are still close friends.

Inter Miami began MLS play in 2020, and Messi joined the club beginning in the 2023 season after leaving Paris-Saint Germain.

After struggling mightily and failing to reach the playoffs in 2023, Inter Miami took a massive leap forward last season, posting 22 wins, four losses and eight draws, giving them the best winning percentage in a single season in MLS history at .765.

However, Inter Miami were shocked in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, falling to Atlanta United.

With Messi leading the way, Inter Miami are expected to be top contenders again in 2025, and Mascherano could potentially be the coach needed to put them over the top.

Inter Miami will name Javier Mascherano as its next head coach, per Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer of The Athletic.

Mascherano has a long-standing connection with Inter Miami star Lionel Messi.

"The 40-year-old will be reunited with Lionel Messi after the two spent nearly a decade together at Barcelona, winning 19 titles as teammates at the Catalan club," Cardenas and Maurer wrote. "Messi and Mascherano played on the Argentina national team for 13 years and remain close friends."

Mascherano replaces Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who left the club for personal reasons.

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas made it clear to reporters Friday that "familiarity with Leo and the other stars is an advantage in every aspect."

"I spoke to Lionel on Saturday after he and Tata had spoken," Mas said, per The Athletic. "I asked him, 'What is important to you and what is important to get the best out of our roster and starting XI. How do we improve?' Leo shared his thoughts with me. This is a very attractive position for a coach. We got it down to three final candidates by Tuesday. Familiarity with Leo and the other stars is an advantage in every aspect."

Mascherano most recently coached Argentina in the Summer Olympics, where they fell in the quarterfinals to eventual silver medalist France. Argentina won two matches and lost one in group play before falling 1-0 to France in the knockout round.

He had also led Argentina's Under-20 and Under-23 teams since 2021, winning 28 matches, losing 12 and drawing 10.

Inter Miami just had the best regular season (by winning percentage) in MLS history, winning 22 matches, losing four and drawing eight for 74 points in 34 matches.

However, ninth-place Atlanta United stunned Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, winning two games to one.

The table is certainly set for Inter Miami to find success, especially with Messi still around. His chemistry with Mascherano can certainly help matters as well as the club looks for its first-ever MLS Cup.

Head coach Tata Martino is reportedly leaving Inter Miami "effective immediately" for "personal reasons," according to Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami finished the MLS regular season atop the table with a league-record 74 points but were upset by No. 9 seed Atlanta United in the opening round of the playoffs, ending their season in shocking fashion.

"It's not a success when you lose in the quarterfinal round," Martino told reporters after Inter Miami was eliminated from the playoffs. "If one thinks about where we were last November, there has been progress for the club, not just the team. If one considers the expectations we had for these playoffs, we've come up very short."

Inter Miami has already seen changes in key positions during 2024. Raul Sanllehi was appointed as president of football operations in June, likely spelling the eventual end for current sporting director Chris Henderson.

There is also the question of how much longer the team's current core group of Messi (37), Luis Suárez (37), Sergio Busquets (36) and Jordi Alba (35) will continue to play.

The hope for Inter Miami, of course, is that Messi's presence alone has made the club a destination for other big-name talents around the globe, much as co-owner David Beckham once provided for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Messi's stardom is unrivaled, of course, but he will also be uniquely impossible to replace once he retires, whenever that may be.

For now, however, the team is left to find a replacement for the 61-year-old Martino, who in two seasons led the team to a 2023 Leagues Cup title and helped turn around what was once a cellar-dweller club.

The addition of Messi is primarily credited with inspiring that change, and for good reason—he posted an absurd 20 goals and 16 assists in just 15 league starts this season. How much credit Martino—who previously managed Barcelona and the Argentina and Mexican national teams, among other high-profile appointments—deserves for the turnaround is harder to gauge, though he certainly caught plenty of blame for the team's early playoff departure.

Whether that played into his decision to leave or not is less clear. But Inter Miami is now left to fill his position as they hope to maximize the years they have left with Messi.

In a win-or-go-home game featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF against Atlanta United FC, a goal in the 76th minute sealed a 3-2 victory for Atlanta at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. With the win, Atlanta advances to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, while Miami is eliminated.

Despite Messi scoring a goal in the second half, fans were left stunned by the loss.

Miami held the top seed in the Eastern Conference and with their elimination, all of the top three seeds in the East have been knocked out in the first round.

Miami and Atlanta entered Saturday's game tied with one win each. Miami took Game 1 with a 2-1 victory, while Atlanta claimed Game 2, also 2-1.

Both teams scored early in the playoff matchup. Inter Miami struck first with a goal from Matias Rojas in the 17th minute, quickly followed by an Atlanta United goal from Jamal Thiare in the 19th minute.

In the 21st minute, forward Thiare scored once again to give Atlanta the 2-1 edge going into half time.

Out of halftime, Messi found his first goal of the postseason in the 65th minute, to even out the score 2-2.

To seal the game, Atlanta's Bartosz Slisz scored in the 76th minute, securing the victory.

Miami registered a staggering 25 shot attempts compared to Atlanta's nine and controlled 64.3 percent of possession, yet they couldn't secure the win.

Following the match, Miami fans voiced their disappointment on social media over the loss to the lower-ranked Atlanta team.

Atlanta advances to face No. 4 Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In a hard-fought battle featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF, Atlanta United FC claimed a 2-1 victory with a dramatic extra-time goal, sealing the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and handing Miami a disappointing Game 2 loss in the MLS Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The 22-8-4 Miami team and the 10-10-14 Atlanta team are now knotted at 1-1 in the series thanks to a last minute goal by Atlanta's Xande Silva.

It wasn't until the 40th minute that either team found the net, with Miami striking first on a goal from David Martinez, assisted by Federico Redondo. Right after halftime, Atlanta responded with a goal from Derrick Williams, leveling the score at 1-1.

The score remained tied at the end of regulation, leading to four minutes of stoppage time. Right out of the gate, Atlanta's Silva found the net off an assist from Aleksey Miranchuk, securing the victory.

Despite Miami holding 58.6 percent possession, they managed only two shots on goal compared to Atlanta's four. Messi remains scoreless in his first MLS postseason games.

After the match, Miami fans took to social media to express their disappointment over the loss to the lower-ranked Atlanta team.

Miami and Atlanta will face off in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs next Saturday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with both teams eager to secure a crucial victory in their postseason battle and move onto the quarterfinals.

Despite rumors that Neymar is considering joining Lionel Messi in the MLS, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino says he believes league salary restrictions will prevent his club from signing the Brazilian soccer star.

"With [Messi] and the boys already here, anything that can happen. What I can't imagine is if the league doesn't make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out," Martino said on Friday, per ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.

Martino continued, per Becherano: "After writing it or saying it in the media it's all good, nothing happens, it doesn't have any consequences, but what would the implementation be like? And the reality is that if there is something that the MLS has, it is that the rules are strict and can't be broken, unless the MLS decides to change."

Neymar is signed with the Saudi Pro League's Al Hilal through 2025 on a contract reportedly worth $300 million. His current club paid a $100 million transfer fee to acquire his contract from Paris Saint-Germain. Rumors he is now considering a move to the MLS were sparked by his recent purchase of property in the Miami area.

Martino said that Neymar's decision to purchase property in the area was not enough to support the idea he might join Inter Miami.

"We cannot talk or mention a player because he bought a house here or has a girlfriend from Fort Lauderdale... First you have to analyze what the league offers and if this is really possible," Martino said. "Starting from that base, today this is impossible, so there is no more continuity in this conversation."

Martino previously coached Neymar during his tenure with FC Barcelona, where he also coached current Inter Miami players Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez.

Inter Miami currently has two designated players, Messi and Busquets, whose deals can exceed the MLS salary cap. The club used to have three designated players including Gregore, but following his transfer to the Brazilian league last February the team has opted for two DP spots this season.

Using two designated player slots instead of three allows Inter Miami to carry four under-22 players and gain about $550,000 in additional cap space, Paul Tenorio noted for The Athletic.

In order to add Neymar, Inter Miami would either need to convince him to sign at a discount or entirely reshape their roster in order to add a third designated player, Tenorio reported.

Messi, Alba and Busquets are reportedly still receiving wages from Barcelona, per Mundo Deportivo and Yahoo Sports, which may have made it easier for Alba and Busquets to take discounts in order to join Messi in Miami. For Neymar, whose current contract is set to expire in June 2025, that could be a harder sell.

Neymar returned to the pitch with Al Hilal after a year sidelined with an ACL injury in October. Brazil is "hopeful" that he will be available to play in World Cup qualifiers later this month, per ESPN's Adriana Garcia.

The MLS' Philadelphia Union announced Saturday that goalkeeper Holden Trent died at the age of 25.

After starring collegiately at High Point University, Trent joined the Philadelphia Union last season.

Although Trent did not appear in any matches for the Union during the 2023 campaign, he did make five starts for Philadelphia Union II, which is the Union's MLS Next Pro league team.

While details of Trent's death were not made public Saturday, Philadelphia Union II head coach Marlon LeBlanc was asked about Trent's status on Friday.

During a press conference, LeBlanc acknowledged a post made on Trent's Instagram Story that stated Trent had been admitted to the intensive care unit at a hospital:

LeBlanc did not provide any information on Trent's condition, but he did offer his prayers and best wishes to Trent and his family.

The Philadelphia Union II are scheduled to play a match against Crown Legacy FC on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

Lionel Messi assisted on Jordi Alba's game-winning goal en route to Inter Miami's 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on Friday in the first game of the best-of-three first round.

Inter Miami outshot Atlanta United 22-8 (12-2 shots on goal). They also possessed the ball 65.7 percent of the match and had 12 corner kicks to Atlanta United's four.

But the match was tied at one entering halftime.

Luis Suárez got Inter Miami on the scoreboard first in the second minute.

Messi nearly put his team up 2-0 in the 29th minute but hit the post. The ball bounced to Marcelo Weigandt, who fired another shot. However, Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan was there for the tremendous save.

Ten minutes later, Saba Lobjanidze put Atlanta on the board after a through ball from Pedro Amador.

A spirit Atlanta United effort would fall short, though, with the Alba goal proving to be the difference.

Messi didn't score a goal, but he still fared well all things considered.

Fans were impressed with Messi and Inter Miami's performance.

Atlanta United will now host Inter Miami for Game 2 on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. ET. An Inter Miami win sends the team into the Eastern Conference semifinals against the winner of the Orlando City SC vs. Charlotte FC series. A loss brings the series back to Miami for the third-and-final match on Saturday, Nov. 9.