Inter Miami need Messi for final push to make history

Following the end of the October international break, Inter Miami are gearing up to return to action in Major League Soccer. With one game of the regular season left to play - and playoff qualification in the bag - the Herons’ sights are shifting towards the postseason, which begins later this month.

Before then, though, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino’s men have one more regular-season feat in their crosshairs, having already won the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield, in the process establishing themselves as firm favorites to win this year’s MLS Cup.

Can Inter Miami break MLS points record?

In their final regular-season game, at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Miami will break MLS’s league-phase points record if they beat the New England Revolution. The Floridians are currently on 71 points, two points behind the all-time record set by New England in 2021.

And as they ready themselves for their bid to make MLS history, Miami know that they have players returning from international duty on a high.

Diego Gómez was key to Paraguay’s 2-1 win over Venezuela in World Cup qualifying this week. The 21-year-old was targeted for praise by the Paraguayans’ head coach, Gustavo Alfaro, who compared Gómez with Alexis Mac Allister and Moisés Caicedo, two players who have also played under the Argentine. Gómez appears all but certain to leave Miami at the end of the MLS season, with Brighton out to take him to the Premier League - but if he departs the US, he wants to do so with a trophy under his arm.

Miami need Messi magic for MLS title push

While Gómez shone for Paraguay this week, however, the spotlight was on his superstar clubmate Lionel Messi.

Having returned from an ankle-ligament injury in mid-September, Messi hit five goals in six MLS games for Miami - and took his good form into international week. In Argentina’s 6-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia, he scored three and set up another for the Albiceleste, a performance that earned rave reviews in the global sports press. Now, Messi will link back up with a Miami team that needs the 37-year-old at his best as they battle for the first MLS Cup title in franchise history.

And if Miami do win the league title this year, it could very well be the final club trophy in Messi’s illustrious career.

“I haven’t set any dates or timelines [on retirement], I just want to enjoy all this,” Messi said after Argentina’s big win at the Monumental on Tuesday. “I feel as excited as ever to be here and feel the love of the supporters, because I know these could be my final games.”

Messi’s Miami contract is due to expire in December 2025, six months before the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s future at Miami remains a mystery, but right now Messi is only thinking about the present. The MLS Cup is in his sights.