Can Inter Miami Dominate MLS in 2025 with Lionel Messi?

The 2025 MLS season is shaping up to be an exciting ride, with more talent in the league than ever before, both in the starting lineups, on the benches, and in the head coach roles, too. The team that everyone wants to watch is, of course, Inter Miami, headlined by the biggest star in soccer: Lionel Messi. 

Indeed, many sports fans are already placing bets on Messi and Miami to take home the glory on leading betting sites supported by advertising-support.com. Additionally, many sports experts are calling that Miami will easily walk the Eastern Conference and should be in with a strong shot of taking home the MLS Cup.

Last season, Messi and Miami went on a tear, setting league records who won a whopping 22 of their 34 regular season games and set a points record of 74. Messi played a massive part in that, scoring 20 times and creating 19 more goals. And he wasn’t even fully fit. But the team wasn’t quite able to go all the way and claim the MLS Cup. Can they go the distance this year?

Lionel Messi Inter Miami MLS Prospects in 2025

It’s no secret: Messi has changed the game for Inter Miami and MLS on the whole. Countless more people across America are taking an active interest in soccer because of the Argentinian legend. Every single week, the questions on everyone’s lips are “Is Messi playing Inter Miami?” and “When is Messi next match for Inter Miami?”

He’s had such a huge impact, and last season’s stats paint an incredible picture: he played 19 games and either scored or assisted a total of 39 goals in those games. No other player can put up those kinds of numbers, and if Messi can even come close to that kind of form in 2025, it’s hard to predict anything but an Inter Miami landslide.

There are several key reasons for this:

• Messi: Messi is the X factor. He’s the  one who can score big goals and make the chances in difficult games to push his team to victory.

• Suarez: Inter Miami isn’t just the “Messi team.” They also have another legendary forward in Luis Suarez, who scored 20 goals himself last season.

• New Arrivals: Miami has made some smart additions during the off-season, strengthening defense with Gonzalo Lujan and Maximiliano Falcon.

Who Could Stop an Inter Miami MLS Cup Win?

Despite the fact that Inter Miami enter this season as No. 1 favorites for MLS success, they’re not the only team gunning for glory. There are some other big teams standing in their way this season, and a few factors that could cause the season to turn against them. Those teams and factors include:

• The LA Teams: Last season, LA Galaxy claimed their 6th MLS Cup. You can never count them out, after so many years of success, and LAFC, their local rivals, also seem well-positioned for a strong season.

• FC Cincinnati: The Ohio team also seems set for a really good season. They’ve got some great players like Kevin Denkey, Evander, and DeAndre Yedlin, though they have lost star playmaker Luciano Acosta.

• Messi’s Fitness: One thing that might hold Messi and Miami back is the 37-year-old’s fitness. Messi missed a lot of games last year and is likely to need careful management and rest time this season to avoid injury.

• Mascherano’s Inexperience: Miami head into 2025 with a new coach in Mascherano. Mascherano is a legend of the game and knows Messi and other Miami players well, but hasn’t got lots of experience as a coach, so could struggle in big games.

Lionel Messi Inter Miami Future: Is It Now or Never?

In many ways, even with a few obstacles to overcome, it looks like this could very well be Miami and Messi’s big year. All the pieces seem to be in place for a terrific season, and with so many superstars in the lineup, it’s hard to see this side failing.

And they might not have time to fail, as this could possibly be Messi’s last chance at MLS Cup glory. His contract is due to end in June 2025, and he’ll be 38 by that point. Of course, he might sign another contract, but he also might not. This could, then, be do or die for Miami and Messi.