Messi's Miami 2.0 could be very different

The upcoming seasons of Messi's Inter Miami will be about building a lasting legacy and that should mean a younger team with fewer journeymen.

Lionel Messi put Inter Miami on the global football map when he signed for the MLS club but with his fresh contract extension he has a chance to truly transform the club and lead them to a completely new level.

The Argentine joined Miami in July, 2023 and was quickly accompanied by his old friends from Barcelona, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez. They turned on the style to win the Leagues Cup in their first season together but age has gradually caught up with them.

The Barca reunion may yet provide an MLS Cup this season (Inter Miami kick off their post-season against Nashville on Friday) but whatever the final outcome, that era of Inter Miami is coming to a close. Busquets and Alba are hanging up their boots and Suarez may follow them into retirement.

The club know that this provides them with the opportunity to build something very different from next season when they move to their new stadium Miami Freedom Park.

The danger was that if Messi left now, there would be little legacy of his impact - a new stadium without him and a team without the ex-Barca boys, would risk being irrelevant.

Now there is a chance for a re-set and to take a fresh approach.

There have been clues in some of the club’s recruitment this season - yes, there is more experience in the form of 31-year-old Rodrigo De Paul, who will be upgraded to a Designated Player next season, but signings such as 22-year-old midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez, 19-year-old winger Mateo Silvetti and Ecuadorean teenage striker Allen Obando, point towards the new direction.

Messi surely knows he needs legs around him. He’s played in enough games for Miami where they have struggled to maintain intensity and tempo for the full 90 minutes against MLS teams who, whatever else they may lack, are fit, hard-working and fast and strong in transition. He’s 38 and now and is planning on playing until he is 40 or maybe 41, if he takes up the option of a third year in his new deal. He can still produce his magic but he needs youth around him to cover the ground, make the runs and put in the graft that allows his remarkable skill to shine.

For the club’s owners, the Mas brothers Jorge and Jose and their partner David Beckham, bringing in younger talent is an opportunity to build a more mobile team now but also lay the foundations for life after Messi. It will also give them a chance to generate some income through the kind of business that saw Diego Gomez come into the club from Paraguay before being sold to English club Brighton for a reported fee of around $14 million.

There is surely no better sales pitch to a young Argentine or South American prospect than offering them the chance to play with Messi in Miami. Which talented teenager would not want to be given the opportunity to play with (and learn from) the GOAT himself?

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De Paul provides some continuity and proven top quality in the centre of midfield but it would be no surprise if there were a host of changes to the roster in this off-season as the new Inter Miami for the new Messi era takes shape.

Messi can now look forward to ending his career in MLS, helping to develop new talent whilst still competing for trophies. He can mentor and mould those new faces and work towards building a team that can thrive even after he too has finally left the stage.

There will still be a temptation to bring in big names, towards the end of their careers, to give Messi that quality that he demands. He wants player who can provide him the service he requires; that sometimes requires big money players with big-time experience and there will be a spare DP slot.

But there is no need for the supporting cast to be made up of journeymen and never-quite has-beens. With the World Cup winner committed to at least two more years, this can be the start of Messi’s Miami 2.0.

And it could be even better than the first time.