MIAMI — Disbelief dawned upon more than 20,000 fans at Chase Stadium on Saturday night when the referee blew the final whistle and ended Inter Miami‘s 2024 MLS season. The favorites to win the MLS Cup crashed out of the playoffs in the first round, losing to Atlanta United in the best-of-three series.
How could a team that concluded the regular season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, with 34 fewer points than Miami registered, overpower a lineup captained by Lionel Messi and supported by Luis Suárez?
Although Miami’s brilliance in attack often overshadowed their weaknesses, signs of a potential downfall emerged long before Saturday night.
Bitten by the injury bug
Inter Miami saw initial signs of struggle before their 2024 MLS season began in February, with issues emerging during the extensive preseason campaign. Players logged more than 28,000 miles in the air, across three continents, and trained on some questionable surfaces.
“This year I didn’t have [a good preseason] because we had a lot of traveling from one place to another,” Messi said in October. “Which was what the club needed, but it wasn’t a good preseason.”
The weeks-long tour of Central America and Asia provided the club with global exposure and gave fans an opportunity to see the Herons, but it came at a cost.
Midfielder Facundo Farías, who contributed three goals and two assists in 11 promising matches after joining Miami in July 2023, suffered an ACL tear during the first preseason friendly against El Salvador. He was ruled out of the entire 2024 campaign before it had even begun.
By March 30, little more than a month into the regular season, Miami had played 15 matches: seven friendlies, six in league play and two in the Concacaf Champions Cup. On that date, Inter had more players listed as unavailable on the league’s injury report (seven) than any other club in MLS.
To that point in the year, eight players (including Messi, Farías, breakout Homegrown star Benjamin Cremaschi, defensive stalwart Serhiy Kryvtsov and Argentina U23 midfielder Federico Redondo) had already missed at least one game through injury and combined for 38 absences.
The injuries stemmed from different issues, but several players experienced exhaustion and muscular burnout after just six weeks of the 2024 season. The calendar hadn’t yet turned to April and the club had already cited “load management” as the reason for some of Messi’s absences.
It didn’t get any better as the campaign unfolded.
Messi, Farías, Redondo and standout 2023 midfield signing Diego Gómez all would miss at least 10 matches through injury. All told, Miami players accumulated 184 matches’ worth of injury absences, with 17 of the 26 players the squad would most count on sitting out at least one game while returning to fitness.
Without injuries and at their best, Inter Miami undoubtedly boast the best roster in MLS. The club saw moments of brilliance and beautifully crafted goals that led to the Supporters’ Shield and the record for most points recorded in a single season.
Although the regular season proved forgiving of Miami’s constant injury issues and uncertain lineups, the playoffs were not. In a win-or-go home situation, the club’s lopsided roster cost them.
The supporting cast comes up short
“We’ve made a lot of mistakes that we can avoid, because many times they were silly mistakes to put it nicely,” Messi said last month. “That cannot happen during the playoffs, because the mistakes can cost you and get you eliminated.”
How prophetic the GOAT’s words proved to be.
Throughout the 2024 season, Miami struggled defensively. The team only managed six clean sheets in 34 games and conceded two or more goals in 12 games. Inter conceded 49 goals across the season, the most by a team that won the Supporters’ Shield since the Seattle Sounders let in 50 in 2014.
The Herons’ impressive attack often masked the deficiencies of the backline, as Messi or Suárez so often saved the day. Messi scored nine goals this season when Inter trailed, while Suárez contributed another four. The rest of the team combined for nine. The pair also netted eight match-winners, accounting for 27% of Miami’s most decisive goals in 2024.
When the greats couldn’t perform, though, the team’s weaknesses came to the fore.
Suárez has confirmed that his agent is negotiating a contract extension with the team, eliminating the need for Miami to chase down a replacement.
And although the clock is ticking, time isn’t necessarily running out for Messi. The forward’s contract runs through the 2025 season, and although his deal does not include an option for 2026, the door to another season at Inter Miami remains open.
“Well, I actually don’t know how limited [Messi’s time in this league] is,” Martino said on Saturday. “There is a question of time passing but I would not dare to say that it is so short.”
Messi and Busquets, the team’s two Designated Players, and U22 initiative players Cremaschi, Avilés, Farías and Redondo will return under the same contract structure. Inter must address the contract of Emerson Rodriguez, who will be returning from a loan spell at Vasco de Gama but also holds a U22 slot.
Ahead of 2025, Henderson and Martino must seek out reliable center-backs, to relieve Busquets of his occasional duties in the backline, and an attacking midfielder ahead of the likely departure of Gómez. The 21-year-old Paraguay international is reportedly close to joining Brighton & Hove Albion this offseason, leaving a sizable hole in the team’s midfield, having played an integral role in 2024 with six goals and seven assists in 2,153 minutes across all competitions.
Further, Miami lack depth in the right-back, attacking midfield and winger positions, and should look to strengthen those areas this winter.
By reinforcing the backline and adding depth across the field, Inter Miami can look to boast one of the most competitive rosters in all of Concacaf. With a more considered preseason and strengthened squad, the team should be able to balance the multi-tournament demands of the upcoming season and defy expectations across competitions.
Another Messi trophy lift may not be far off, but the Herons must take the appropriate steps to reach the ultimate goal.
