Inter Miami season with Lionel Messi has been a success, but what is next after missing MLS Cup Playoffs?

After falling out of playoff contention, Inter Miami’s wild 2023 has essentially come to an end despite having two more matches to play before the season is up against Charlotte FC. One of those games will be played without Lionel Messi due to him being on international duty but he could be available for the season finale against Charlotte on Oct. 22nd if Tata Martino would like to end the season with his strongest team on the pitch. 

It has been a season of highs and lows for the Herons but when they’re able to secure their first trophy in club history by winning Leagues Cup, it can only be considered a success despite finishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Herons were already rooted to the bottom of the table when Messi joined but they were able to show that at times they can be one of the best teams in Major Legue Soccer despite building most of the starting XI in a summer month. 

It is a season of what could’ve been in MLS as the Herons would’ve had a chance to win two, maybe even three trophies if Messi didn’t get injured but that shows where Miami need to improve next season. Many of the young players weren’t’ ready to shoulder the load of leading the attack without Messi and the team will be playing in more competitions next season. They’ve already qualified for Concacaf Champions Cup alongside MLS, U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup play. Messi will finally get an offseason where he can rest before Miami begin a preseason tour, but at 36, the Herons will need to be able to get consistent results without him too. 

What must be done to make that happen?

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Identify who should be invested in

Miami has already signed Kamal Miller to a contract extension which is a great decision. A Canadian international, Miller covers so much ground in defense and while, “Kamal Miller time” can provide Herons faithful with heart palpitations, his inventiveness can help open space for Miami’s attackers while he is able to get back into defensive shape more times than not. There are other players like Dixon Arroyo who should be around as squad players next season but it could come down to what MLS roster rules look like. He and Robert Taylor are valuable to Miami but would also have trade or resale value elsewhere if the roster squeeze caused the Herons to need to move in a cheaper direction to add more stars.

Who is the next star?

Luis Suarez and Angel Di Maria come to mind but there are a few issues there. If Suarez comes in, adding him with Josef Martinez and Leonardo Campana is quite a lot of bodies for limited minutes leading the line. Both Suarez and Martinez would need to have their mintues managed but it could also end in a situation where Miami need to move on from Martinez. A striker who has always been a valuable contributor in MLS, Martinez will always have a place on a team but his effectiveness is also declining.

For Di Maria, the plan seems to be for him to finish the season with Benfica but that could also change depending on how Champions League play goes. Di Maria isn’t someone who the Herons would look to pay a transfer fee for but fourth in their Champions League group after two matches, Benfica could look to move on during the winter allowing the Herons to get their guy early. He would likely impact decisions around Taylor but if a team can get Di Maria, they’re going to do it as it only puts Miami in a stronger position moving forward.

After luring Messi, don’t count anything out. 

Lobby for change

At the moment, Miami can only work within MLS rules — bending them slightly so that Messi is also compensated by league sponsors —  but what if they and other teams in the league didn’t have to? There has been much discussion about how MLS roster rules hurt them compared to Mexican teams because the league can’t spend on depth. It showed when Messi wasn’t on the pitch with Miami going winless in four matches and with MLS having some of the toughest travel demands in the world, teams need to be able to rotate regularly. Until more teams can spend with the top teams in the league, the designated player rule makes sense to keep teams to only three global superstars but why can’t the overall salary cap and amount that can be spent on the remainder of the roster be raised?

Currently, teams are held to a limit of spending just over $5 million on their roster with anyone making more than $650,000 needing to have a specific roster designation to buy down some of their cap hits. There are exceptions with Homegrown Players, Generation Adidas draftees and other cases in which a player may not count against the salary cap but it’s still just not enough money. MLS is in a unique position ahead of the 2026 World Cup to attract more of the world’s best players and the time is now to capitalize on that.

Alongside that, the league needs to pause during international breaks so that teams don’t have to be without their best players for critical matches. It may mean that the season extends further than they would like but when it improves the quality of soccer on the pitch, it can only be a good thing.